Ludington native takes part in bike ride for fallen officers

LUDINGTON, Mich. (AP) - For Yolanda Saucedo, Kent County Sheriff’s deputy, police work makes fellow officers like family.

The Ludington native has worked in Grand Rapids law enforcement for more than 24 years.

For the past three, she has participated in the Police Unity tour, a four-day, 300-mile bicycle ride from Hanover, New Jersey, to Washington, D.C. All proceeds go to the families of police officers who died in the line of duty, as well as room and board.

“It’s to raise for awareness and raise money for officers that have died in the line of duty, so that they’re not forgotten,” Saucedo told the Ludington Daily News (https://bit.ly/1CpvRKb0 ). “Each rider that rides has to raise $1,800 … That money goes to the fallen officer’s family and the police memorial museum.”

The tour began in 1997 and, since then, has raised approximately $14 million to support the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum in Washington, D.C. Grand Rapids police have participated in the tour for the past 10 years.

“It’s an amazing sight,” Saucedo said. “The kids from the schools line up on the street (along with) all the fire departments. People from all the way around the United States (participate.)”

The riders travel from New Jersey to the police memorial in Washington, D.C., May 13 for a candlelight vigil. Each rider chooses to ride in the memory of a fallen police officer.

Saucedo rides in memory of Eric Zapata of the Kalamazoo Police Department. Saucedo’s boyfriend, officer Brian Vitale, rides on behalf of the late Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield, who died in Mason County on Sept. 9, 2013.

“Whether we know the officers or don’t know the officers, we are one big family,” Saucedo said. “We stand together.”

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Information from: Ludington Daily News, https://www.ludingtondailynews.com