ONE STATE TROOPER RIDING FOR ONE GIANT CAUSE

(Baltimore, MD) – One of Maryland’s finest is representing the Maryland Department of State Police in the 13th annual Police Unity Tour, a 300 mile bicycle ride to honor all law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

First Sergeant Elizabeth “Cricket” Beck, an 18-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, is one of 1200 members, mostly police officers, riding in the annual Police Unity Tour. The annual bicycle ride kicks off National Police Week. The ride commences on May 9, 2009 out of Florham Park, New Jersey and culminates on May 12th at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is here where the names of each law enforcement officer in the United States who died in the line of duty will be etched onto the blue and gray marble stone.

This year, Maryland will add five names to the wall, one of which is Trooper First Class Mickey C. Lippy, a Maryland State Trooper Flight Paramedic who perished in a tragic helicopter crash on September 28, 2008 while on a medevac mission. To date, the Maryland State Police, alone, honor 41 state troopers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

First Sergeant Beck’s motivation to take on this challenge for the first time is multi-purposeful. First, she is riding to raise awareness of the police officers and their families who have suffered a line of duty death. Second, she is riding to raise funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum which is located in Judiciary Square, Washington, D.C. Finally, her driving force is to ride for Maryland’s Fallen Heroes, particularly those with whom she has worked closely at the Maryland State Police Aviation Command.

“As troopers, we understand and accept the inherent risks of the job. An otherwise courageous act becomes a routine daily deed for us," said First Sergeant Elizabeth Beck, a 13-year Trooper Flight Paramedic assigned to the Aviation Command. "I ride to honor my fallen comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice. I ride for their families, their friends and their fellow officers who are left behind to somehow pick up the pieces and more forward in life." In 2008, the Maryland State Police suffered the loss of three very special people, all of whom will be remembered for their commitment to the Aviation Command: Retired Corporal Pilot Stephen H. Bunker, Trooper First Class Mickey C. Lippy and First Sergeant Tobin T. Triebel.

The first leg of the ride is a 50 mile ride to Edison, New Jersey, followed by a 100 mile ride on day two to Wilmington, Delaware. The third leg is a 100 mile ride that will travel the Eastern Shore of Maryland with a planned stop at the Queen Anne County Fallen Heroes Memorial to pay tribute to fallen Queen Anne County Sheriff Deputy Jason C. Schwenz and Centreville Police Officer Michael S. Nickerson who were killed in February 2001 while answering a loud music complaint. On May 12th, the final leg of the race, the riders will depart Annapolis and pedal to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium where they will join six other Police Unity Tour Chapters for the final three mile ride to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Arrival time is schedule for approximately 2:00 p.m. To learn more about the Police Unity Tour or to make a contribution visit www.policeunitytour.com.