Hundreds of police officers participating in the Police Unity Tour and Law Enforcement United Road to Hope bicycle rides staged at the National Museum of the Marine Corps May 12 to start the final leg of their journey to Washington, D.C. May 11-16 was National Police week, and officers came from across the nation to honor their fallen brothers and sisters and to show support for the surviving family members.

The PUT riders began in East Hanover, New Jersey; Portsmouth, Virginia; and other locations May 10, and their destination was the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington. Officer Dave Northway, from the Tallahassee Police Department, said he started with 215 other riders in Portsmouth, and that they had two surviving family members from Georgia in their group, along with riders from Arizona and Texas and four from England.

From the museum they rode along U.S. Route 1 to RFK Stadium, where the small group joined with other groups to form a group of 1,900 riders. From the stadium they bicycled to the memorial together.

The LEU riders began in Chesapeake, Virginia, and Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 10 and ended at the World War II Memorial. As with the PUT group, many of the officers came from much further away than those starting locations. Departmental patches showed officers from as far away as Louisiana, Arizona, California, and elsewhere.

Marine Corps veterans and military police officers gathered in one corner of the parking lot before the start of the ride and held a brief remembrance for fallen officers. They then warmed up with 40 pushups, plus one for Chesty.

Officers on motorcycles from departments across the state and beyond escorted them for the final leg, with Prince William County officers leading the way.