Locally owned restaurant raises money to help police officer wounded in line of duty

ENGLEWOOD — Three volunteer firefighters, co-owners of Company 7 BBQ restaurant in Englewood, didn’t have to think twice about reaching out to help a brother member of the public safety-law enforcement community.

The three former first responders know well what it’s like to risk life and limb in performing the public service of saving lives, rendering medical aid and keeping the peace.

That knowledge and the scare Clayton Police Officer Cody Cecil received in October when he was shot while serving a warrant was enough to move the restaurant owners to include the officer in their ongoing program of helping others.

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Through Dec. 31, you can donation cash in any amount or buy a Company 7 BBQ gift card of any denomination. The owners of Company 7 BBQ have committed to sending 10 percent percent of the restaurant’s gift card sales for the month to Cecil and his family as he continues to recover.

“Whatever they get, whether it’s 5 dollars of 100 dollars, we’re going to total up the sales at the end and give back 10 percent,” one of the co-owners, Patrick Murty, told News Center 7′s Malik Patterson.

“It puts a big struggle on a family like that because now the wife has even more things to worry about getting him back to good health,” said Murty, who has ties with the West Milton Fire Department.

“For us, being volunteer firefighters in the past, it was always kind of like give back to your community and the community will support you,” he said.

Helping Officer Cecil and his family is just one of many ways Murty, his co-owners, West Milton Fire and other area police and fire departments give back to the community.

“We always do a program where we have parents write in about gifts they can’t afford for their kids and we always go out and do stuff like that,” he said.

So far, Murty said, Company 7 BBQ has been able to collect a few 100-dollar donations.

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