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'Cop on Top' Fundraiser Returns To Pittsfield Walmart

The annual Cop on Top fundraiser returned to Pittsfield on Friday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The fourth annual Cop on Top returned to Walmart on Friday with the goal of raising more than $55,000 for the Special Olympics.

Police officers will camp out on the roof of Walmart on Hubbard Avenue through Saturday while others in the parking lot are collecting donations and running other fundraising activities.

Led by the Law Enforcement Torch Run Program, the police are looking to beat last year's fundraising total of $55,034.

For the third year, WTBR, Taconic High School's radio station, will be live broadcasting throughout the two days.

The 36-hour event will raise funds for year-round programming for local Special Olympics. More than 3,000 Special Olympic athletes will be training and competing during the winter season.

Dozens of officers will take turns spending time on the roof; some 75 participated last year in what is thought to the biggest Cop on Top event in the state.

The officers have a tent and supplies on the roof but it could be a rough night with a forecast of 4 to 8 inches of sleet and snow expected overnight and into Saturday morning. So if you're at Berkshire Crossings, toss them some donations (to keep them up or bring them down) for braving the elements for a good cause. Donations can also be made online here.

A number of local restaurants are also offering donate a percentage of their receipts to the cause: Arizona Pizza, Hot Harry's, Zucco's and Applebee's. Find more information about that here.

Congressman Neal Talks With Reid Middle School Students

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
02:44PM / Friday, April 10, 2026

Congressman Neal answered questions from students as part of their civics projects. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. Rep. Richard Neal answered questions from an eighth-grade class at Reid Middle School on Thursday. 

Students in Susan Mooney's class prepared questions related to their civics projects, ranging from government transparency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to sports to mental health.  

"Be discerning, be fact-driven, and you know what? As I say to my own children, resist emotional decision making," Neal told the class. 

"You generally will come up with the wrong decision if it's very emotional, and the other part I can give you, an important part of my career: you're always going to give a better answer tomorrow." 

In Massachusetts, eighth-grade students are required to complete a civics project focusing on community issues, research, and action.

Students focusing their project on ICE said they found that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is tasked with protecting citizens. They asked Neal why ICE is controlling DHS when agents "do the opposite." 

"ICE needs to be reformed and restrained, but a lot of it has much to do with the president's position on it," he said, adding that the fundamental job of the federal government is to protect its people. 

"We just need to know who's in the country for a variety of reasons. When the president says he's rooting out the criminals, nobody disagrees with that, but that's not what's happening, is it? It's now people that are just showing up in the courthouse to do what we call 'regularizing their status' that are being apprehended."