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Kosky| The Times
Indiana Concerns of Police
Survivors riders depart from the Porter County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday
morning. The cyclists were riding from Merrillville to South Bend on Tuesday as
part of a 13-day, 1,000-mile bicycle ride for Indiana Concerns of Police
Survivors, a group that provides support and services for the survivors of
fallen police officers.
Bicycling across the state for those who can't
Ken Kosky
Merrillville
police Sgt. Tim Finnerty's love of bicycling led him to join the team that rode
through the region Tuesday as part of a 1,000-mile ride across the state to
benefit the survivors of fallen officers. But what keeps Finnerty doing
the grueling ride each year is that he gets to meet the families of officers who
died in the line of duty, and because he hears firsthand how the money he helps
to raise benefits the survivors. Finnerty and the rest of the Indiana
Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) team -- with police cars and motorcycles
escorting them -- pedaled through Lake and Porter counties Tuesday. The
COPS ride, now in its fifth year, raised $54,000 last year. The money pays for
counseling, legal services and more for survivors, and it also funds trips to
Washington, D.C., so family members can visit the memorial wall and see their
loved ones' names on it. Bloomington police Senior Patrol Officer Monica
Zahasky, wearing photos of fallen officers on her bicycling jersey, said she's
riding "to pay respect to the fallen officers and let the survivors know their
heroes will never be forgotten." Wherever the cyclists go, they meet with
survivors and read short biographies about the fallen officers to keep their
memories alive. Indiana State Police Lt. Col. Danny East, one of the COPS
riders, said the pain of doing such a long bicycle tour is nothing compared to
what loved ones go through when a police officer is killed. "The survivors
and their appreciation for what we do (the fundraising ride) fills us up. That's
the reason we do it," East said. Their support truck features the
photographs of the seven Indiana officers killed in 2007 and this year, and it
bears the number 377 -- marking all the Indiana officers who have died in the
line of duty over the years. "We'll never forget our fallen heroes," said
the ride chairman, Indiana State Police Trooper Rich Crawford. Among the
survivors attending a ceremony with the cyclists Tuesday at the Porter County
Sheriff's Department were Larry Hecht, father of fallen Porter County officer
Tim Hecht; and Lake County police chief Gary Martin's widow Olga Martin and
daughter, Jennifer Martin-Luskey. Gary Martin was killed during the 2006 COPS
ride.
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