INDIANAPOLIS — After 13 days and more than 900 miles, a group of active and retired police officers, law enforcement survivors, law enforcement family members and friends of law enforcement returned to Indianapolis Saturday.
Indiana State Police trooper and Cops Cycling for Survivors treasurer Kevin Getz said they felt support from communities statewide.
"It was a very diverse group, which was really fantastic ... Cops Cycling for Survivors is not one agency, it's not one area of the state, it encompasses everyone," Getz said.
The group met with over 260 survivors across Indiana and raised $72,000 for scholarships and foundations named for fallen officers.
"Certainly when you meet with the survivors, there are some tears that are shed ... I think this year was different in the sense that we laughed a lot, and we got a lot of personal stories from families about their officer, and that's kinda really what helps us keep the memory alive," Getz said.
Officers Kenneth Lester, Breann Leath and Sergeant Te'Juan Johnson were honored with this year's ride. Officer Devid Hewitt and Trooper Peter “Bo” Stephan were given special honors since they could not be properly honored due to the pandemic.
"As long as we have one healthy body that is willing to put a foot in the pedal and ride around the state, we're always going to honor that. That's our duty and our place to our survivors and to those officers we honor, as well as the affected agencies," Getz said.
Getz has been involved with Cops Cycling for Survivors for years.
"If just for a moment that we could take some of the pain away ... the epitome of this year's ride was just the love and compassion that the cyclists had for the survivors and that fully extended to us as a group," Getz said. "It was a really extraordinary year."
To learn more, follow Cops Cycling for Survivors online and on Facebook.
