Former county police officer Dennis Sims is teaming with CrossFit Off the Grid in Williamstown for a special workout to honor the life of fallen Washington Township officer and county SWAT member Cpl. Steve Levy.
The event will take place on Saturday, April 4, and feature sessions at 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. at CrossFit. Sims is a coach there and served with Levy on a SWAT team that handled critical incidents. One of those incidents resulted in Levy’s death.
According to Sims, on the morning of Oct. 21, 1999, a domestic dispute in Woodbury turned into an intense standoff after shots were fired from a home on the 300 block of Logan St. As Levy made his way through the house, he found the suspect in a closed bedroom. As he approached the door, Levy was shot in the head.
According to the Officers Down Memorial Page nonprofit, Levy was pronounced dead at about 8 a.m. that day. The suspect later committed suicide.
Sims now hosts the annual workouts not only to honor Levy, but also other fallen officers. They include Deptford’s Robert “Bobby” Shisler, who died from injuries sustained in the line of duty in 2023.
Proceeds from workout registrations will benefit the local chapter of the Police Unity Tour, an annual bike ride that many police departments – including Monroe Township’s – participate in to raise funds and awareness of lost officers. The ride ends at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
“We’ve been doing this for the last two years,” Sims explained. “The workouts that we do line up with the time (Levy was killed), Oct. 21, 1999, and the number of officers killed in the last year.”
The workout will be instructed by CrossFit coaches, is open to all ages and will feature two versions, one for beginners and one for those with more experience. Register by calling the gym at (609) 501-5346.
