'We will not forget': Shelby Road to Hope riders head to Washington, DC
Friday morning, a small crowd gathered at the fallen officers memorial uptown in a send-off ceremony for the annual Road to Hope Shelby bicycle ride.
The ride was first started in memory of Shelby Police K-9 officer Tim Brackeen, who was shot and killed while attempting to serve a warrant in the fall of 2016 and has continued each year since with the riders carrying the names of both local and national fallen officers with them throughout the 529-mile journey.
The team of riders left Raleigh on Saturday morning for the first leg of the journey that will take them to Washington, D.C., and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial by the end of the week.
Stephen Brackeen, the brother of Timothy Brackeen, who will be riding, spoke to the small crowd of law enforcement, teammates, community and family members.
He said the ride honors the men and women who had given their lives for their communities and will culminate with the start of National Police Week in Washington.
Each rider read off the names, end-of-watch date, badge number and other details about the eight local men who have died in service. They will carry those names with them on the ride.
Going back to 1901, those men are R. Sheldon Jones, B. Edgar Hamrick, Sanford Pruett, Ewart Sanders, Donald Henderson, George Allen, Timothy Brakeen and Carl Proper.
Stephen Brackeen said it was his great honor to carry the name of Timothy Brackeen.
He described his brother as a man of exceptional Christian character and said it was his death that inspired the Shelby Ride to Hope.
“The measure of a life is not its duration, but its donation,” Brackeen said.
He spoke about forfeiting bitterness and choosing forgiveness.
After a moment of silence and a prayer, Brackeen said the ride is a way to commemorate the cause of not forgetting those who gave their lives.
“We will not forget,” he said.
A moving experience
Gary Lee, with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, said he’s been participating in the ride since 2019.
He said following the send-off ceremony in Raleigh, they’ll head to Greenville for the first leg, then on to Elizabeth City before converging in Chesapeake, Virginia, where they’ll be joined by Law Enforcement United riders from all over the country as they all head to Washington. Once in Washington, there will be a welcoming ceremony, and some officers will have a chance to meet the family of officers in whose honor they are riding.
Lee said they’ll find the names of the officers they are carrying on a fallen officer memorial in Washington.
He showed off the blue bracelets he wears with the names of the fallen inscribed on them.
Throughout the journey, participants read the end of watch for officers in communities they pass through and visit sites where they were killed.
Lee said it is an emotional, moving experience and hearing the names read for men and women he hasn't met still hits close to home and feels personal.
People can follow along with the Road to Hope - Shelby on Facebook, where the riders will be posting photos, videos and an end-of-day fireside chat.
Lee said fire departments, churches and the community welcome them along the way and roll out the red carpet for the riders.
He said it takes the support of the entire community, as well as prayers and donations, to make the ride happen.
“It is the most tiring, most emotional journey I have ever taken,” he said.
Road to Hope not only raises awareness for officers who have died in the line of duty, but provides support for the families left behind.
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Shelby Road to Hope riders head to Washington, DC
