Burr Ridge Police to Participate in Charity Ride For Late Officers' Families

The Burr Ridge Police Department will participate in a charity bicycle ride this month for a good cause.

Burr Ridge police will be a part of the 9th annual Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) Cycle Across Illinois from July 17-21. The event supports the Illinois families of law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

The 325-plus mile ride will begin at the Mississippi River in Alton, Ill. and end at Gold Star Families Memorial and Park, just east of Soldier Field in Chicago.

The riders are law enforcement officers from many different agencies and backgrounds, in addition to several survivors and supporters. Corporal Michael Barnes will once again represent the Burr Ridge Police Department during the event, driving a police support vehicle.

The donations gathered for the charity ride help the Illinois Chapter of C.O.P.S. send officers’ family survivors to a variety of programs that help them begin healing and form lasting, supportive relationships with other families.

A total of 120 police officers died in the line of duty in 2012, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. Two of them were from Illinois—Illinois State Trooper Kyle Deatherage and Cook County Correctional Officer Nikki Bostic-Jones.

There were 1,020 names of fallen officers on the Illinois Police Memorial Wall as of 2012.

The Ride

Riders will first gather at 6 p.m. July 17 in Cahokia, Ill., and be in Alton at 7 a.m. July 18. From there they will travel to several towns throughout the next four days, including Waverly, Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Dwight and Orland Park.

During each day of the ride, the group will observe dedications to several officers who have died in the line of duty. As the ride moves across Illinois, the riders will be welcomed by their law enforcement colleagues who will escort them through the area. Families, supporters, universities, agencies and local businesses have also joined the cause to help feed and provide rest areas for the riders.

At Chicago Police Department Headquarters at 12:30 p.m. July 21, the riders will be joined by the CPD Memorial Foundation’s “Pedal for the Police” event riders, as well as members of the CPD’s Gold Star Families. The two groups at 1 p.m. will ride to the CPD memorial at Gold Star Families and Memorial Park to rest and reflect at the memorial.

Members of the community are welcome to meet the riders and survivors.

This information is courtesy of the Burr Ridge Police Department.

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See past Burr Ridge police news:

• Former Burr Ridge Middle School Teacher Accused of Raping Student
• $20,000 in Jewelry Stolen From Home: Police Blotter
• Honda Civic Stolen From Owner's Driveway: Police Blotter