By Eve Baker
They came from across the nation to honor their fallen brothers and sisters and to show support for the surviving family members. Hundreds of police officers participating in the Police Unity Tour (PUT) and Law Enforcement United (LEU) Road to Hope bicycle rides staged at the National Museum of the Marine Corps this morning to start the final leg of their journey to Washington, D.C.
The PUT riders began in East Hanover, N.J., on May 9, and their destination is the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in D.C. The LEU riders began in Chesapeake, Va., and Reading, Pa., on May 10 and will end at the World War II Memorial. However, many of the officers came from much further away. Departmental patches showed officers from as far away as Lousiana, Arizona and California.
Officers on motorcycles from departments across the state escorted the bicycle riders for the final leg, with Prince William County Police Department officers leading the way.
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- Officer Katherine Byers of the Norfolk Police Department displays the remembrance bracelets she is wearing on the Law Enforcement United Road to Hope bicycle ride in honor of two fallen police officers from her department. She began the 250+ mile journey in Chesapeake, Virginia on May 10 and will end it at the World War II Memorial in Washington on May 12.
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- Prince William County Police Officers stage at the National Museum of the Marine Corps for the final leg of the Police Unity Tour and the Law Enforcement United Road to Hope bicycle rides. The officers on motorcycles escorted the officers on bicycles into Washington on May 12.
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- Officers from across the nation participating in the Police Unity Tour and the Law Enforcement United Road to Hope bicycle rides gathered in the parking lot at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on May 12 to start their final stage into Washington. The officers rode to honor their fallen brothers and sisters and support their surviving family members.
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- A young boy waves a police flag in support of the bicycle riders gathered at the National Museum of the Marine Corps for the final leg of the Police Unity Tour and the Law Enforcement United Road to Hope bicycle rides on May 12.
