Eight Atlanta police officers will leave Atlanta on Tuesday to take part in the Police Unity Tour bicycle ride down the East Coast and to honor a comrade killed in the line of duty this year.
Senior Police Officer Gail Thomas, who died after being hit by an allegedly drunk driver while working a late-January wreck on the Brookwood Interchange ramp from I-75 to I-85, will be on the minds of those officers as they make the four-day trek that begins Wednesday in East Hanover, N.J., and finishes 310 miles later in Washington.
Officer Mike Flisser is leading the Atlanta police cyclists, who gathered Monday morning for a ceremonial sendoff at Atlantic Station. They will depart by van on Tuesday for the starting point in New Jersey.
The sendoff was held at Atlanta fire Station 11, which responded to the Jan. 24 accident that killed Thomas.
"We wanted to promote the camaraderie between the police department and the fire department – the goodness of the relationship," Flisser told the AJC.
Flisser took part in last year’s ride, which benefits the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. This year, he’s returning with an entire team of Atlanta officers to make the ride with him to honor Thomas, a 20-year veteran of the department.
“It’s much more personal,” Flisser said. “It’s the least we can do, to do something in her honor.”
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