Why OC cops are dumping ice on their heads

At law enforcement agencies throughout Orange County, cooler heads are prevailing.

The Ice Bucket Challenge, which has become an online sensation, has local cops filming themselves being doused with near-freezing water – sometimes immersing themselves in bins packed with ice – for a good cause:

Paying tribute to the 63 fallen officers so far this year.

The Ice Bucket Challenge works like a traditional chain letter. Participants are called out by name in videos posted on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and asked to get soaking wet in frigid water.

If they agree to be filmed being doused in ice water – and, thanks to such a public display of peer pressure, most do — they contribute a minimum of $10 to the Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.org/).

If they agree to participate but stay dry, the cost is $100.

Gripped in summer heat, cops in Orange County probably aren’t complaining too much about being called out to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge, which is being used for countless charitable causes across the country.

Cynthia Hines thought she wouldn’t be called out.

On Wednesday, she was – by Mike Green, a fellow patrol officer at the Fullerton PD.

“Maybe you should wait a bit,” her husband told her.

Hines, 28, didn’t want to wait – and filmed herself that night becoming a temporary popsicle.

“It was fun, and it was great to be part of such a big cause,” said Hines, who is expecting her second child in December.

“The best part is knowing that I contributed to something meaningful and to something that hits so close to home.”

The Ice Bucket Challenge has become so popular in Orange County that top brass are getting in on the act.

On Thursday afternoon, Fullerton Police Chief Dan Hughes sat in a chair in the police station parking lot and, reading from notes, issued a challenge to all O.C. police chiefs to do the same – calling out several by name.

“You now have 48 hours to complete this challenge,” Hughes said.

Then, in full uniform, he was drenched in frigid water dumped from two large ice chests.

The chief, looking cool under pressure, then said:

“It is finished.”

Very cool.