Crime & Safety
National Police Week 2013: 'We Ride for Those Who Died'
Some 1,700 people -- family, friends, policemen and policewomen -- arrive at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial by bike to join thousands of others honoring fallen officers in Washington, D.C.
Led by a caravan of motorcycle cops, an estimated 1,700 people arrived at the national police memorial on their bikes Sunday, part of a week-long series of events to honor more than 19,000 officers lost in the line of duty.
The motorcyclists and bicyclists rode beside each other and behind each other, into the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and between two 304-foot marble walls etched with the names of officers lost.
Among the 321 newly-etched names for the 2013 ceremony were four officers from Maryland, including Harford County sheriff's deputy Cpl. Charles Licato, killed in a car crash while on duty last September.
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321 Fallen Law Officers: 'Respect. Honor. Remember.'
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The "Unity Tour," as the ride into Washington has become known, started in 1997 as a way to raise money for the memorial, and officers have adopted the event's motto as, "We Ride for Those Who Died."
The event has raised more than $12 million.
For some idea of the scope of the ride, see this aerial video of the Unity Tour.
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