Fire, Police Departments Host Autism Awareness Basketball Tournament

On Saturday, April 5, Comanche Nation Police and Fire Department held a three-on-three basketball tournament at Cameron University to raise autism awareness.

Comanche Nation Police Department Community Policing Officer Robert Chavez said there were three pages of donors. April is Autism Awareness Month, and he said they hope to help families.

“There's a lot of different areas where these kids need help, not only the kids but the parents,” he said. “It's difficult getting help through the state. Not a lot of people have all this money for certain devices, certain doctors. You can only go to a few doctors, and they're very limited in southwest Oklahoma.”

Fire Chief Kyle Tahpay said his favorite part was seeing the crowd and enjoying time with the community.

“It was open for the whole community,” he said. “We got teams from all over who came out to play today.”

Tahpay said it was a good feeling seeing everyone who showed up.

“I feel overwhelmed,” he said. “But it is the first year I've ever done this. And it was a good turnout when you first walk in the door and you see all these teams here and all the people here.”

Teams who participated received trophies for first through third place.

There was also a half-court shot contest for the adults featuring a variety of prizes.