Law Enforcement Technology

JUL 2015

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COVER STORY 38 Law Enforcement Technology July 2015 www.officer.com and ride for. In doing that, each member is provided with a blue metal bracelet with the inscription of, "In Honor and Memory of " then the fallen officer's name, agency, end of watch date. They also contain the words "Police Unity Tour 2015" and have a bike rider, the crest, and rose symbol. At 1100 agencies arrive peddling T-shirts, water bottles challenge coins, etc. There are some really cool Unity Tour designs. The teams or agencies that bring these also use the money to help towards the fund-raising goals. Our chapter was fortunate that every year a group of officers and survivors from The United Kingdom show up to ride and participate with us. After checking out the swag tables and talking to people we have a mandatory meeting at 1230. The meeting gives you an overview of the days to come. It also consists of a pretty in-depth safety briefing about how people should ride and what to do if things go wrong. Contingences are set in place for bad weather, crashes, etc. It also helps give new participants a little insight as to what's going on. They explain any expected issues on the route and assign ride Marshalls to assist in helping control and lead the ride. After the meeting we all kind of hang out, finish getting all of our gear together and make final preparations. Then it's off to meet new friends for dinner at a local restaurant. Then off to bed so we can be ready to ride in the morning. You can tell that many people are very nervous or anxious about the ride. Some people are already questioning if they had ridden enough to be ready or not. During the safety briefing they portray the ride as a little scary. ■ Chris Backhaus is a 15-year veteran of police work. He currently works for a municipal police department in the Washington, D.C. area as a patrol supervisor. In his free time he likes to cycle and conduct law enforcement training. Al Samuels Unity Tour riders making their way to the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Police Week in Washington, D.C. are encouraged with signs and smiling faces along the way. Editor's Note: Look for Part Two of Chris's Unity Tour Journal on Officer.com/12084881

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