Officers ready to ride 300 miles

Local law enforcement officers Bobby Pennington and Alan Roberts will be heading out this week to participate in the Police Unity Tour along with other members of the Tennessee Chapter.

This will mark the second year the pair has made the demanding bicycle ride from Virginia Beach, Va., to Washington D.C. where they will converge with other riders from around the nation at the National Law Enforcement Memorial to honor officers who have fallen in the line of duty.

Pennington, a school resource officer at WCHS, says the tour is a great way to pay homage to those who have paid the ultimate price to perform their jobs.

Pennington said the ride last year drew literally hundreds of law enforcement officers from around the country.

?We were about 600 to 700 strong when we got to the National Law Enforcement Memorial,? Pennington said. The memorial, located in Judicial Square in Washington, is set up as a wall with the fallen officer?s names listed, much like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

?Each officer who rides in the tour rides for an officer that?s been killed in the line of duty. I think last year we had 154 officers killed and their names will be placed on the wall this year. We?re also researching officers in the past who have been killed in the line of duty,? Pennington said.

Sheriff?s deputy Alan Roberts says it?s inspiring to see the reaction at the culmination of the ride.

?When we ride into Washington we?re several hundred strong,? Roberts said, ?and seeing that sea of blue and white riding into Washington in support of these fallen officers and their families, and then gathering at the memorial that honors their names, is quite an emotional and moving experience.?

Roberts had his own inspiring and personal experience last year which highlighted his ride.

?Last year I rode for an officer from Columbus, Ohio by the name of Melissa Foster,? Roberts said. ?Melissa died in a car accident responding to a call. Her name was one selected to be put on the wall.?

Roberts went online and got her biography from the memorial Web site so he could learn more about her.

?Once I got to Washington, Bobby and I kind of rode in together, and as we rode through the memorial we stopped and got off our bikes and went back into the memorial to try to find where her name was on the wall, as well as the name of the officer Bobby rode for. Once we found her name we leaned down to make a rubbing of her name from the memorial and I felt this hand on my shoulder. I turned around and there was this fellow standing there and he asked me if I rode for that officer, and I told him that I had,? Roberts said. ?And he said, ?Well, I?m her father.? And, oh, it just sent shivers through me. Then he turned around and said, ?This is her mother, and this is her sister and her brother.? There were several other family members, and it was just a really emotional experience to see all those people and meet them. That was rewarding for me.?

The Sendoff Ceremony and Day 1 Ride will be held this Wednesday, May 10, with the final day of the ride and arrival ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on Friday, May 12, with several other events held over the weekend. A Peace Officers Memorial Day Service will culminate the event Monday, May 15 at the U.S. Capitol at noon, with flags flown at half staff in honor of fallen officers.

For more information on the event, visit the Web site at www.policeunitytour.org.