Breakfast With The Badge Fundraiser To Aid McDaniel

Those who “back the blue” have a chance to return the favor this weekend and give back to someone who gives of themselves every day.

Local law enforcement will be hosting “Breakfast with the Badge” from 7 a.m. until noon this Saturday at Grace Life Church in Anderson. Volunteers will be serving pancakes, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, eggs, hash browns, breakfast burritos and dessert. All for a donation.

Guests will also have the opportunity to “Dunk Da Chief” at the dunk tank.

All proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly to deputy Wes McDaniel. On April 9, McDaniel responded to a mutual aid call in Lanagan regarding an armed, suicidal subject. While he was securing the back of the property, McDaniel scaled a chain-link fence, landed incorrectly, and experienced a tibia/fibula fracture.

“My tibia cut through my leg, near my ankle,” McDaniel explained.

McDaniel works full-time with the Pineville Marshal’s Office but was also working part-time with the Anderson Police Department at the time of the call.

Since the injury, he has undergone two surgeries — one to fit an external mobilizer and another to set pins and screws into the bone for permanent reinforcement.

According to Missouri statute regarding worker’s compensation, the employee’s medical bills will be covered and two-thirds of their part-time wages compensated.

Because McDaniel was on the clock at his part-time job, he is only reimbursed for those lost wages — not the additional wages lost by not being able to work his full-time job. With his wife, Kayla, also staying home to care for him initially, the family suffered a financial blow.

It will be two to three more months until McDaniel can be cleared for anything but light-duty office work.

“The response from local law enforcement and the community has been exciting,” said Paul Buckner, event organizer and longtime friend of McDaniel. “All four chiefs and both marshals from McDonald County have volunteered to man the dunk tank. And we’re going to try and drown them.”

When asked who McDaniel looks forward to seeing in the tank, he laughed.

“I guess it’s everyone’s dream to dunk their boss, so either Seth (Daniels, Anderson chief) or Chris (Owens, Pineville marshal).”

For a $10 donation, those who are unsure of their aim can purchase a Slam Dunk which automatically soaks the person in the tank.

“I hope to see pro-law enforcement supporters come out,” Buckner said. “I want what we’re doing to set the precedent for how we take care of our injured law enforcement. For the people who aren’t sure how to help LEO, this is how.”