From Wednesday May 9th through Saturday May 12th, three Pierce County corrections deputies will participate for the first time in the 300 mile Police Unity Tour bicycle ride. The four stage ride begins in East Hanover, New Jersey, and ends at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Corrections Deputy John Lyon, Corrections Deputy Mike Peek, and Corrections Deputy Jon Blind are all members of the Sheriff's Department Honor Guard, and are volunteering their time to ride in the tour with two officers from the Lakewood Police Department. Of the estimated 1200 riders in this year's tour, the five riders from Pierce County are the only participants from Washington State.
The motto of the Police Unity Tour is 'We Ride for Those Who Died', and the corrections deputies will be riding in honor of Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Shandon Wright and Washington State Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl. Deputy Wright and Corrections Officer Biendl were killed in the line of duty in 2011, and their names will be placed on the wall at National Law Enforcement following the bicycle ride.
The Sheriff's corrections deputies have also placed on their bicycles the names of Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Kent Mundell, National Park Service Ranger Margaret Anderson, and Washington State Patrol Trooper Tony Radulescu.
To participate in the Police Unity Tour the corrections deputies were each required to fundraise $1,800; as a team the three have raised over $7,200 for the Police Unity Tour and the National Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation.
A blog has been set up that will be updated with photos and videos during the tour: http://piercecountyput2012.blogspot.com/
