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RACINE — Members of the Racine Police Department (RPD) and Racine Fire Department (RFD) were surrounded by family and friends, as the first responders played in the first annual “Guns and Hoses” basketball game.

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Zach Brenner tries to block the ball as Aaron San Juan looks for a Racine Fire teammate to pass it to. – Credit: Emma Widmar

The teams

RPD, or the “Guns,” sported blue jerseys. Their mascot for the event was a pig. RFD players, the “Hoses,” were sporting red shirts. Their mascot was a Dalmatian.

The game took place in the fieldhouse at Horlick High School, 2119 Rapids Drive, on April 22.

“In all service fields, police and fire, EMS, nurses, teachers, it becomes exhausting after a while. At some point, your mental health starts to take a toll. The idea of this game is to have a competitive, yet friendly inner city game between us to raise the morale,” said Officer Travis Brady.

While not the first time the departments have joined together, this was the official kick-off of the “Guns and Hoses” basketball game tradition.

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Ofc. Brady Brenner watches the game from the RPD bench. – Credit: Emma Widmar

The Guns

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Officer Zach Brenner shoots at the 3-point line. – Credit: Emma Widmar

Playing for RPD were the following officers:

  • Zach Brenner
  • Brady Brenner
  • Bryce Spaulding
  • Jared Kosmala
  • Jermainne Pumphrey
  • Colin Powell
  • Gabrielle Hood
  • Brinelle Nabors
  • Thill Bennett
  • Aiden Belcher

Racine Police Chief Maurice Robinson was also on the squad.

RPD was coached by Investigator Tonya Scarvers. Officer Caleb Mckenzie of RPD helped assist with announcing the basketball game.

The Hoses

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Racine Fire goes up for a 3-point shot. – Credit: Emma Widmar

Playing for RFD were the following:

  • Battalion Chief Bedros Ohanian
  • Captain Craig Ford
  • Lieutenant Dave Nagl
  • Lieutenant Brian Turczynski, Lieutenant Enrique Trevino
  • Driver Operator Sam Fuucile
  • Driver Operator Scott Runkle
  • Private Jacob Robers
  • Private Charlotte Fernandez
  • Private Aaron San Juan
  • Private Luke Toutant
  • Private Caitlin Roucka
  • Private Sammy Smith

The Dalmatians were coached by Player/Coach Captain Chavan Smith and Division Chief Josh Weber.

Volunteers made it possible

While off the clock, first responders came together for a game of basketball. In doing so, numerous volunteers helped to make the event possible.

The national anthem was sung by active duty US Navy Senior Chief Bennie Clark from Great Lakes Naval Station. Jesse Booker, the announcer for the Horlick Rebels, announced the game.

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Racine Fire looks to pass the ball during the “Guns and Hoses” basketball game. – Credit: Emma Widmar

In addition, Pastor Tylre Butler and Hope City Church arranged a food truck to be present at the event. This offering was a part of Hope Week, a commitment to service work that the church makes yearly. This week, they are completing 35 different service projects, totaling over 100 hours of community service work.

Living out their “In the city, For the city” mission, members of the church were at the event supporting first responders.

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
US Navy Senior Chief Bennie Clark orders from Double B’s BBQ food truck. Hope City Church provided free meals for first responders at the event. – Credit: Emma Widmar

In addition, Double B’s BBQ out of West Allis was present during the game, providing food for purchase. 

The church showed its support by providing free meals to Racine Police officers and Racine Firefighters who were in uniform at the game.

“There’s a lot of sacrifices that they make. We have a lot of first responders as part of our Hope City family, so we get it, and anytime that we can just love on them, show them support, it really helps keep everybody unified and together,” said Damica Bell, Executive Director of Administration & Connection for Hope City Church.

Families were able to tackle a thirty-foot long by twelve-foot tall obstacle course bounce house in addition to rooting for their favorite officers and firefighters on the court.

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Racine Fire huddles during a timeout. Racine Police won the “Guns and Hoses” basketball game. – Credit: Emma Widmar
Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Friends and family of the Racine Fire and Police Departments were invited to watch the “Guns and Hoses” basketball game. It was closed to the public. – Credit: Emma Widmar

Police win

Guns and Hoses, Racine Police Department and Racine Fire Department play basketball
Ofc. Brady plays defense at the 1st annual “Guns and Hoses” basketball game on April 22. – Credit: Emma Widmar

The police took home the win against the fire department. The final score was 71 to 33. However, the event was bigger than basketball, it provided an outlet for first responders and allowed family, friends, and coworkers to unite together.

The “Guns and Hoses” (RPD and RFD) enjoyed playing as much as their family and friends enjoyed watching them on the court. In years to come, RPD and RFD hope to welcome the public and make it an even more community-centric event.

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