Julie Drake / Valley Press, courtesy of the Antelope Valley Press
The traveling group End of Watch Ride to Remember recently stopped at the Antelope Valley California Highway Patrol office parking lot to honor fallen CHP Officer Andy Ornelas in their ride across the country.
End of Watch Ride to Remember is a group of six motorcycle riders from Washington escorting a 41-foot trailer covered with memorials and photographs for the year’s fallen officers.
The caravan is riding across the country and stopping at each agency that suffered a police officer casualty in 2020, a year that had 338 fallen officers, which is the most ever honored by the ride since its beginning.
According to the Antelope Valley Press, Officer Ornelas was en-route to a vehicle collision in Palmdale when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck making a sudden U-turn. He later died of his injuries.
Ornelas’s family members, Antelope Valley CHP Capt. Eric Broneer; Assemblyman Tom Lackey, Antelope Valley CHP officers and LAPD officers met the End of Watch motorcycle riders in the parking lot.
The six riders will escort the trailer across 22,500 miles of country, visiting 194 cities and police departments to honor those who laid down their lives in the line of duty last year. The trip started on May 28 and will end on August 19.
The organization that created the event, Beyond the Call of Duty, recognizes fallen police officers across the country and raises funds to support the loved ones and family members affected by their loss.
Founder Jagrut “JC” Shah, a former deputy sheriff, said they want to show departments and their families who have lost a loved one that they are not alone.
“I really believe that these good men and women should not just be called by a number,” he said. “They all have names and they have history. The departments are all hurting, especially with the survivors, letting them all know that there are other survivors. What we try to do is connect them with survivors so that there might be some peace to relieve that hurt.”
Go to www.endofwatchride.com to find out more information or to donate.
