“We Ride for Those Who Died” - Police Unity Tour Coming Up

The Chair of Leicestershire Police Federation said it was important to honour the “heroic acts” of fallen officers as he prepares to take part in the 2025 Police Unity Tour.

The bike ride – with the slogan/mantra “We Ride for Those Who Died” - takes place in one month's time and raises funds for the Care of Police Survivors charity.

The charity supports the families of police officers who have lost their lives on duty, with the fundraiser marking its 13th year in 2025.

The Tour concludes at the COPS Service of Remembrance in the first weekend of August.

Andy Spence said it would be the first time he had got on his bike to join the effort, having previously driven a support van at the event.

He said: “It really, really brings it home when families can sit and say to you this is how they felt supported.

“That’s not only at the time of the tragic incidents that have happened, but also now, 20 years later, about how they’re still being supported.”

The annual tour concludes at the National Memorial Arboretum, a national site of remembrance in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Andy said last year he joined the family of a former colleague who was killed more than 20 years ago.

“I was sharing my memories of working with him and they were talking about their experiences,” he added.

“They said how the police was very much like his work family and a second family for them as well.”

The branch chair encouraged everybody to get behind those involved and support the good cause.

He continued: “The Police Unity Tour and the COPS weekend is there to honour those people who have been killed and died in the line of duty, through their heroic acts.

“We’ve got to remember that day in, day out, police officers run towards bravery.

“They’re doing it to protect everybody else, but behind them is a family who wave goodbye to their loved one every day.

“It’s right that we honour them, we remember them and that we support their families still because they are just as much a part of the police as people who came to work.”