Crime & Safety
Police Honor Fallen Officers in Memorial Ride
The fourth annual West Valley Memorial Motorcycle Ride was held Saturday.
Motorcycles filled the closed-off section of Vanowen Street in front of the West Valley Community Police Station Saturday morning as riders prepared for the 4th annual West Valley Memorial Motorcycle Ride.
The ride was started in 2008 by Los Angeles Police Officers Kimberly Snyder and Lyle Michelson of the West Valley Community Police Station.
“We had no monument to honor our fallen officers, so we wanted to build a monument,” Michelson said. "That’s why we held our first ride and we’ve just gone from there."
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The ride became the largest law enforcement escorted ride held in the San Fernando Valley, attracting riders from all over the city, county and state. It brings together police officers and the public in a positive way, Michelson said.
“The involvement between the community and the officers is fantastic because we have our own officers, including myself, who are participating in the ride,” he said.
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The ride benefit’s the West Valley B.O.O.S.T.E.R.S., which provides items the city cannot buy for the police officers; the Randal D. Simmons Outreach Foundation, which raises money for underprivileged children; and the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation, which helps orphans and widows of officers killed in the line of duty.
Terry Crawford, a retired high school teacher, got on her Harley Davidson motorcycle and rode from Oxnard to participate in the event because she feels it is a good cause.
“These guys lay down their lives for us every single day,” Crawford said, adding that her brother was a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County. “There’s so much that falls on the officers. I don’t know how they do it--the stress must be incredible.”
