Lindsay Dozier will be joined by several of her fellow department colleagues as part of the Police Unity Tour in May. Photo contributed.

The Fresno Police Department will be represented in the Police Unity Tour this year, with the goal of raising both money and awareness for fallen officers across the country.

Held since 1997 with the only break being last year due to Covid-19, the tour sees riders cycling from several points in New Jersey eventually ending at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C., spanning approximately 250 miles over the four-day journey.

Officer Lindsay Dozier, accompanied by Capt. Tom Rowe, Lt. Jordan Beckford, and officers Felipe Uribe, Sheila Chandler and TJ Moore, will make the trek from New Jersey to D.C.

The event is scheduled from May 8 – 14, with different proceedings throughout the six-day event. Riders will start from various points based on which chapter the officers are riding with.

The tour has nine chapters listed on their website, with riders from Fresno participating in both the Northern California and the Southern California chapters.

“There are multiple chapters all over the United States that go to the Unity Tour,” Dozier said. “A lot of our officers signed up under a Southern California Chapter; myself and one other officer signed up under a Northern California Chapter.”

The chapters all ride from different locations in order to reduce traffic, but for the final stretch, the officers ride together to the memorial.

“They all go in different routes and we meet up in the same location, and we all end up riding in together the last couple miles,” Dozier said.

Each officer is tasked with a minimum fundraising goal of $2,000 to cover fees including housing, food, and the maintenance of the memorial, which was originally constructed from funds raised by the event.

To date, the event has donated more than $30 million to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund since it started in 1997.

Families of fallen officers are also honored at the end of the event.

“We wear bracelets with their names on them, and when we get to Washington D.C., we actually give those bracelets to the family members in memory of their relative,” Dozier said.

This year, Dozier specifically mentioned officers Angel De La Fuente, and Paul Brown, both of whom passed away after contracting Covid-19 while on duty.

After starting in 1997 with 18 participants, the Police Unity Tour has grown to 2,600 participants each of the previous four events. The tour is the sponsor of the National Law Enforcement Museum’s Hall of Remembrance, the Memorial Fund’s Officer of the Month Award, and Recently Fallen Alert programs.

To donate, visit fresnofightgirl.com/2022-police-unity-tour.