SHALIMAR -- Starting Friday (July 1st) and for the next week, a motorcycle ride honoring law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2021 is making its way down and around the state of Florida.
The Beyond the Call of Duty ride consists of a motorcycle escort of a trailer carrying the names and pictures of all of the 608 men and women in law enforcement who died on the job in 2021.
Beyond the Call of Duty is a nonprofit run by J.C. Shah, a retired police officer who spent his career mostly in Yakima, Washington. The group is based in Spokane. Shah says he
"I just thought it was important that (law enforcement agencies) realize that their loss is being felt across the nation, not just in their departments," Shah said, "It's really important that the survivors realize that we are not going to forget their loved ones." Shah also aims to connect survivors of fallen law enforcement officers with each other across the nation.
The annual ride takes the remembrance convoy around and across the conterminous United States. Its Florida swing begins Friday afternoon (July 1st) at the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, to honor a deputy who died of COVID-19.
Here are the memorial's other stops in Florida:
JULY 1: 3:30p CDT– Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, 50 2nd St, Shalimar, FL
JULY 2: 4:00p – Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office, 231 NW Monroe Ave, Mayo, FL
JULY 3 (times TBD)
Pinellas County Jail, Clearwater, FL
Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Winter Haven, FL
JULY 4:
9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Bradenton, FL
Lee County Sheriff’s Office & FL Highway Patrol, Fort Myers, FL
JULY 5:
Miccosukee Tribal Police Department/Team South Florida, Ft Lauderdale, FL
Miami-Dade County Department of Corrections, Miami, FL
DOJ – CBP and FBI Field Offices – Miami Intl Airport, Miami, FL
Hollywood Police Department, Hollywood, FL
JULY 6:
Fort Lauderdale Police Department & Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Ft Lauderdale, FL
FL Dept of Bev and Tobacco, West Palm Beach, FL
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Belle Glade, FL
Palm Bay Police Department, Palm Bay, FL
JULY 7:
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Kissimmee FL
Florida Highway Patrol, Ocoee, FL
JULY 9:
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office & Bunnell Police Department, Bunnell, FL
St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. St Augustine, FL
Clay County Sheriff’s Office., Orange Park, FL
Hear in more an interview with J.C. Shah at the link below:
Photo: Beyond the Call of Duty