Teen to use reworked uniforms to reach slain officers’ children

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CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A 14-year-old girl hopes to reach out to the children of slain officers around the country with teddy bears created from their parents’ uniforms.

Megan O’Grady, the daughter of a Southwest Florida law enforcement officer, said she was inspired to create Blue Line Bears to help those living through her worst nightmare.

“With all of the recent police killings and all the fear that I personally have felt because my dad is a police officer, I thought how terrifying it would be if I lost my dad,” she said. “I turned that into a positive idea to help others who have that experience.”

Through Blue Line Bears, O’Grady will request the uniform shirts of officers killed in the line of duty, then convert them into a teddy bear.

O’Grady uses a high-tech sewing machine to make the bear’s eyes and nose from an officer’s uniform buttons. A personalized badge with the officer’s name is sewn onto the bear’s stomach and the officer’s patch is attached to the bear’s back.toddler-with-teddy-bears

Her homemade teddy bears are similar to those featured in a viral photo of a smiling toddler named Malachi Snyder. The 2 year old’s dad, Blake Snyder, was a St. Louis Police officer who was gunned down when he responded to a disturbance call on Oct. 6.

O’Grady said she hopes Blue Line Bears helps families like Malachi’s heal.

“I hope it brings comfort to them to keep them close. It’s going to be part of them because it’s made from something of theirs,” she said.

O’Grady created the concept for Blue Line Bears for a school project, but the teen plans to launch her efforts nationwide Jan. 1.

She has created a GoFundMe page to help offset the cost of production.

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