10th Annual Cops Cycling for Survivors starts Monday

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WANE) - Monday, July 9 will mark the start of the tenth annual Cops Cycling for Survivors bicycle ride across and around Indiana. A departure ceremony will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the Law Enforcement/Firefighter Memorial in downtown Indianapolis.

The 53 cyclists will head east toward Greenfield  on the first leg of journey that will last 13 days and cover nearly 1,000 miles bicycling the perimeter of Indiana.  

Cops Cycling for Survivors Foundation, Inc., is made up of active and retired police officers, law enforcement survivors, and friends of law enforcement who ride to raise money and awareness about the sacrifices made by Hoosier law enforcement families across Indiana. Funds raised from this event are used to help surviving family members and co-workers of officers killed in the line of duty. A portion of the funds raised directly supports the Indiana Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors, or IN C.O.P.S.

This year the cyclists are recognizing the sacrifice made by Terre Haute Police Officer Brent Daniel Long, who was shot and killed on July 11, 2011, as he and other officers served a felony warrant at a house in Terre Haute. Long's canine “Shadow” was also shot but survived. Officer Long had served with the Terre Haute Police Department for six years. He is survived by his wife and two children.

The ride is scheduled to conclude on the afternoon of Saturday, July 21, 2012, at the Heroes of Public Safety Section at Crown Hill Cemetery.

To see the route the cyclists will follow, click here.

This ride was started in 2003 by Lieutenant Gary Dudley of the Indiana State Police. In 2001 and 2002, Dudley,  Lt. Bruce Baker of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, and Officer Todd Knowles of the Plainfield Police Department organized rides from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. for National Police Week. After those first two years, Dudley decided to bring the ride home to Indiana in the hopes of being able to do more to support law enforcement survivors in his home state.

Dudley and retired Lake County Police Chief Gary Martin gave their lives in the line of duty while participating in the ride on August 22, 2006, when a large box truck crashed into the rear of the support truck that was following the cyclists as they rode south on State Road 63 near Perrysville. Since that day, the cyclists continue to carry on Lt. Dudley’s vision and legacy in supporting law enforcement survivors. To date, the cycling event has raised approximately $300,000 for IN C.O.P.S.