NJ cops wear pink hats for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - Officers with the Park Ridge Police Department in New Jersey are looking a little different this month.  For them, it is all about pink hats and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Retired police lieutenant Nick Errico started the Pink Hat Campaign six years ago after his wife, Carla, was diagnosed with breast cancer. He, too, is a cancer survivor.

The hats cost $25. Every dollar raised is matched by the OctoberWoman Foundation. All of the money is then donated to Columbia University Medical Center for breast cancer research and a wellness program.

The campaign started with Park Ridge PD in 2012 but word quickly spread to other police and fire departments. Errico said more than 30 towns joined.

The public can also buy the hats with either a police department name or just the symbol for breast cancer awareness.

After Carla Errico's first diagnosis, she was cancer-free for years. But in March her cancer returned. He husband said that his wife appreciates everyone's backing.

In the past six years, Errico's Pink Hat Campaign has raised more than $128,000.