Nearly $650,000 has been donated to the wife and children of Oakand County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Reckling, killed in the line of duty on June 22 in Detroit. He was tracking a vehicle stolen from the Red Oaks Water Park when he was shot by the suspected thieves..
He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and their three young daughters: Alyana, 6, Isabella, 4, and Scarlett, 11/2, and a fourth child expected later this year.
A GoFundMe started by Mark Szydlowski, Jacqueline’s uncle, raised $295,385 of a $350,000 goal from more than 3,400 donors.
Some sent $5, others $100 or more. The largest single amount, $3,240, came from an
anonymous donor.
Szydlowski disabled more donations as of Tuesday and did not respond to The Oakland Press’ questions about it.
The family’s mortgage is to be paid by Tunnels to Towers, a non-profit based in New York City that honors a firefighter killed responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. https://t2t.org/our-impact/
The Oakland County Deputy Sheriff’s Association Family Benevolent Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization founded by but separate from the Oakland County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, has raised $33,722 from 351 donors toward a $50,000 goal for the family as of Tuesday afternoon.
“(W)e aim to provide unwavering support to Deputy Reckling’s family,” said a message on the donation page. “All money raised will be given directly to Deputy Reckling’s family to help ease the financial burden they face during this difficult period. Every donation, no matter the size, will make a meaningful difference and demonstrate our collective gratitude for Deputy Reckling’s sacrifice.”
The sheriff’s office set up a separate program, to Mission Oakland, to support the family, which raised close to $350,000 from 3,200 donors as of late Monday. Mission Oakland remained open as of Tuesday afternoon.
Mission Oakland donations can be made via PayPal, or checks made to Mission Oakland with “Deputy Reckling” in the memo can be mailed to to the sheriff’s office at 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Building 38E, Pontiac, MI, 48341, with “Deputy Reckling” on the memo and checks payable to Mission Oakland.