‘I am proud to have ridden for Paul’

6 August 2025

A retired officer who took part in the Police Unity Tour (PUT) at the weekend has described the incredibly emotional moment when he met the wife of the fallen officer he rode for.

Each cyclist riding in the annual PUT, which aims to raise awareness of fallen officers and boost the funds of the Care of Police Survivors (COPS) charity, wears a wristband inscribed with the details of an officer who lost their life in the course of their duties. At the end of the ride, the cyclists hand their wristband to the officer’s family.

Former Northamptonshire Police officer Mike Jones was randomly selected to ride for West Midlands PC Paul Owen who died in a road accident in 2004, but COPS did not have any details for his family.

But, following an appeal on the West Midlands Police Federation website and social media channels, Mike was able to get in touch with Paul’s wife, Michelle and arranged to meet her at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, the final destination for the 180-mile PUT which is supported by forces across England, Wales and Scotland.

Mike said afterwards: “Meeting Michelle at the arboretum was the most incredibly emotional moment. This was the first time we had met.

“When I contacted West Midlands Police Federation to try to find out more about Paul and possibly contact his family, I just wanted to feel I was riding for a real person, not just a name on a spreadsheet.

Same values

“The Federation were so helpful and put me in touch with Michelle. I have learned so much about Paul as a person and their daughter Grace.

“He sounds like such a good man with varied interests and I have no doubt that he and I would have been great friends, as it seems we share many interests and hold the same values.

“Meeting Michelle was more like meeting up with a friend I hadn't met yet, than a stranger. Without a word, we just hugged and shed tears.

West Midlands PC Paul Owen.

“This moment made the previous 194 miles in the saddle, the 10,000 feet of climbs, Beacon Hill, the aches, pains, cramps and crashes all worthwhile.

“Throughout the ride, we recalled memories of Northants colleagues we have loved and lost including, most recently, Jack Watts, Alex Prentice, Paul Keany and Jason Hill and their families who grieve them and live with their massive losses.

“Those of us who have survived and are surviving the job are privileged to be able to ride for those who died. This was my first Police Unity Tour ride and I am so proud to have ridden for PC Paul Owen of West Midlands Police.”

Accident

Paul joined West Midlands Police in 1975 when he was just 18 and served the Force for 29 years before the tragic accident that took his life at the age of 47.

Michelle and Grace say: “He proudly worked in the community as a young person's officer and dedicated his time to educating about safety and serving to protect young people across the county. He spent the last few years of his career as a Federation representative providing counsel to his colleagues.

“Paul was well loved by family, colleagues and friends and is still dearly missed more than 20 years later. We would like to extend immense gratitude to Mike for honouring Paul in this Police Unity ride and all the other officers who supported the COPS family. We are immensely proud of them all.”

Mike Jones brings his Police Unity Tour to an end.

Mike was part of the Northamptonshire Chapter of the Police Unity Tour which was made up of 30 cyclists. Officers from West Midlands Police also took part, joining colleagues from Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia in the West Midlands Chapter.

A total of 530 riders cycled into the arboretum at the end of the tour and then joined the families of fallen officers, chief officers, Federation representatives, civic officials and other policing stakeholders for the annual COPS Service of Remembrance.

COPS is dedicated to helping the families of fallen officers rebuild their lives, through access to peer support, counselling and other initiatives such as a families’ weekend.