Photos Courtesy/Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office
By Paul Garrod
Staff Writer
PAW PAW – The End of Watch Ride to Remember, a group of motorcycle riders from the State of Washington escorted a 40-foot trailer to Paw Paw on Wednesday, Aug. 3, where it made a stop at the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office. The trailer honors fallen officers from the prior year.
Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office Deputy James Lear was one of 600 fallen officers honored. He died Dec. 10, 2021.
Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott made the initial contact with the organization. “I was put in touch with them through James’s family. After that, I worked with them to make it happen. It was a nice event for the family seeing how much folks cared for James and how folks still want to show their respect to him.” Sheriff Abbott added, “It was an honor having them here to give the respect and tribute to Deputy Lear.”
Sheriff Abbott expressed his gratitude to everyone who attended.
In 2020, The End of Watch Ride to Remember rode 18,000 miles, in honor of 146 officers killed in the line of duty in 2019. In 2021, – 84 days, 22,300 miles plus, in honor of 339 officers killed in the line of duty in 2020 (the longest continuous ride in the United States, and the longest memorial ride).
In 2022 – An unprecedented 600 fallen officers killed in the line of duty in 2021, were honored, beginning June 1, marking almost 21,000 miles and 79 days.
Founder, Jagrut Shah, a former deputy sheriff, said in a press release, they wanted to show departments and their families who have lost partners and friends they are not alone. “I wanted to bridge this gap that we have and give back to the departments and let the surviving officers and their families know that their loss has not been forgotten.” The organizations’ event name is based on an officer’s “End of Watch”. An End of Watch Call or Last Radio Call is a ceremony in which a police dispatcher issues a final call to a fallen officer over the radio, followed by silence. All officers in that department hear the call, and observe the silence, remembering their fallen brother or sister. Beyond the Call of Duty is an organization that, through its “End of Watch Ride to Remember” event, recognizes police officers – throughout the nation – who died while in the line of duty.
Last year, the End of Watch Ride honored 339 fallen officers across the country. This year, 600 officers lost their lives while serving their community. According to Shah, End of Watch Ride to Remember is on a mission to pay their respects to each of them and assist the families of the fallen however they can. “A peaceful community is a prosperous community, and we owe a debt of gratitude to those officers who make it possible for us to live in a peaceful and free society,” said Shah.
For more information, visit the website: www.endofwatchride.com.
Beyond the Call of Duty is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and honoring first responders who have died or been gravely injured in the line of duty. It is committed to supporting their survivors by providing emotional support as well as financial resources and partnering with departments to reduce death and injury by increasing safety awareness and providing financial resources. Over the past two years, through generous donations from people all across the country, the organization has been able to assist several departments with memorials to honor their fallen, purchased a K-9 for a department, and donated two Harley Davidson motorcycles to two worthy departments. In addition, Beyond the Call of Duty has donated funds to families so that they could have a Christmas, sponsored families to attend an event honoring their fallen officer and is in the process of creating a safe network for survivors to connect with and support one another. The organization’s support of each family is based on their specific situation and need. Its desire is to take the worry and stress off them so they can focus on healing and putting their lives back together.