Do you know why we are riding? Who we are riding for and how this is a worthy cause?
If you have kept up with the news as of late you have seen a lot of attention put on law enforcement and the publics view of how Officers or Deputies should react to certain situations. I am not here to preach a political view or tell you what you should think or how you should view Policing in America.
This non-profit fundraiser focuses on remembering those in Law Enforcement that gave that ultimate sacrifice while working to keep our communities safe for all. Here is the story of three Heroes that gave it all up as a result of working their beat, job assignment and making sure the bad guy goes to jail.
The first Law Enforcement Officer I would like to tell you about and one of the five primary fallen officers we are riding for this year is Sergeant Greg Moore of the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Police Department.
Sergeant Moore was patrolling on May 5th, 2015 in the area of Coeur d'Alene in response to a several car break-ins that had taken place. At 1:30 am he stopped a suspicious male and radioed the man's information in, but made no further radio contact. A citizen heard gunshots, found Sergeant Moore in the street, and called the police.
After the shooting the subject stole Sergeant Moore's patrol car and fled the location. An officer spotted the stolen patrol car in the town of Post Falls, and initiated a pursuit. The suspect eventually fled on foot and was eventually found in a parking lot, hiding under a car, and taken into custody.
Sergeant Moore was taken to a local hospital where he died several hours later from his wounds.
Sergeant Moore had served with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department for 14 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The next Hero that we are honoring this year that I want to tell you about is Officer Rick Silva from the Chehalis Police Department. Officer Silva did not pass during a traumatic event while on the job but rather was involved with a suspect in a fight during an arrest of a shoplifter and subsequently died on June 18th, 2015 as a result of that fight during surgery to repair an injury to his hip.
The offender, who was armed with a knife, resisted arrest. During the ensuing struggle Officer Silva injured his hip. Officer Silva had served with the Chehalis Police Department for 13 years and had previously served with the Lewis County Sheriff's Office for 12 years.
Another Hero we are riding in remembrance of is Trooper Detective Brent Hanger. Detective Hanger was performing his assigned duty while in a remote area of Chinook Pass, near Yakima, to investigate reports of a marijuana growing operation. During the search and hike in Detective Hanger suffered a fatal Heart Attack.
Detective Hanger had served with the Washington State Patrol for 17 years. He is survived by his wife and six children.
Now there is one more "Law Enforcement Officer" that we will be remembering during our ride this year that passed in the "Line of Duty" last year. This LEO will not have his name added on the Wall
in D.C., only because he walked on four legs. But that is not to say he was not a hero worth remembering. This furry guys name was K-9 Barney from the Tacoma Police Department.
K9 Barney died after inadvertently ingesting methamphetamine conducting a narcotics search as part of a search warrant at a storage unit in Puyallup. Barney located unwrapped, powdered methamphetamine and ingested it after putting his nose on the substance. He was rushed to an emergency vet hospital where he remained until passing away the following night.
Three subjects were arrested and charged in connection with the narcotics trafficking case, which resulted in a seizure of 44 pounds of methamphetamine from the storage unit.
K9 Barney had served with the Tacoma Police Department for nine years.
The last hero I have added to this list of Officer's we are riding for did not pass in the line of duty in 2015. Last year the State of Washington had posthumously awarded this Deputy the States Highest award, the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor.
This Deputy from the Clark County Sheriff's Office came to my attention because this Deputy is the great grandfather of one of our Deputies here in the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Russ Clawson.
Deputy Willfred Rorison was shot and killed on August 7th, 1922 while assisting a federal prohibition agents raid on a still in a rural part of the county. When the officers arrived they encountered one of the suspects making moonshine and attempted to arrest him. The man opened fire with a 30-30 rifle, fatally wounding Deputy Rorisen.
The other agents were able to return fire and killed the suspect.
It is a great honor to ride for this Deputy even though it has been almost 100 years.
This is why we ride and fund raise for the Police Unity Tour.
As we finish the 2016 Police Unity Tour, I just want to add a few more pictures from the ride, before, during and in Washington DC at the Candle Light vigil.
And we ride...
