The 23rd annual Cops Cycling for Survivors bike ride began on July 8, and will be passing through Columbus on July 19th and 20th.
The ride around the state pays respect to officers who have died in the line of duty, as well as their families. Through raising awareness and fundraising, the ride has benefited families by donating to scholarships, foundations, and camps that have been started to commemorate officers killed in the line of duty.
Participants are active and retired officers, survivors, family members and friends of law enforcement.
When the participants ride through Columbus, they will be on the last leg of the tour, which ends with a closing ceremony in Crown Hill Cemetery’s Heroes of Public Safety section. The ceremony takes place at 2 p.m. July 20.
This year, the ride is going to specifically recognize seven line of duty deaths from 2023, in addition to honoring all line of duty death’s from previous years.
The 2023 Line of Duty Deaths being recognized include
- Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Asson Hacker, March 2, 2023
- Indiana State Police Master Trooper James R. Bailey, March 3, 2023
- Indiana Department of Correction Maintenance Foreman Michael Robert Keel, April 12, 2023
- Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron N. Smith, June 28, 2023
- Tell City Police Department Sgt. Heather Glenn, July 3, 2023
- Marion County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Durm, July 10, 2023
- Johnson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Timothy J. Guyer, Aug. 1, 2023
