West New York Local 361
Police Unit y Tour
The Welcoming Committee
Carolina Whisten has been attending The Police Unity Tour arriv-
al in Washington D.C. since before her two sons were born. During
the 10 years that her husband, West New York Local 361 member
Tate Whisten, has ridden in the Tour, she’s learned to arrive at the
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial early, in order to get a
spot where she is sure have a good view of Tate’s ride in.
“He calls when he’s getting close and I tell him what side we’re
on,” Carolina shared about how she and her now 3-and-8-year-old
sons connect with their dad on his way into the Memorial. “We re-
cord it and (the kids) get to watch it many times as they want to
afterwards.”
When Tate rode into the Memorial this year, he noticed the size
of the crowd that gathered to cheer on the officers who rode more
than 300 miles from New Jersey to Washington D.C. in honor of the
fallen. The amount of support present at Police Week each year
never fails to remind Tate of how proud he is to be an officer, espe-
cially as he approaches 19 years on the job.
“There’s more people here I think than ever before. It’s insane,”
Tate observes. “It makes you appreciate your career a lot more do-
ing this.”
Beside the Whisten family in the middle of the Memorial, the
Mundo family also gathered to reunite with their personal hero
who had pedaled the distance, George Mundo. After serving with
Local 361 for nearly 28 years, George is glad that he finally decided
to participate in the Unity Tour in 2017. He enjoyed the experience
so much that there was no doubt that he would return to the ride
for the second time this year.
“I should have started doing this since day one,” George notes.
The support that the Unity Tour receives not only at their arrival,
but throughout the entire journey to D.C., gives George confidence
that the view of law enforcement in the community is improving.
“Going through those New Jersey towns, and all through Dela-
ware and Maryland, we see a lot of school kids stand alongside the
sidewalks waving the flags as we pass by just to show support,” he
explains. “I like to believe that the tide is turning, where more peo-
ple are supporting us now than they were before.”
Amber Ramundo
Ocean Township Local 371
Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Local 379
Born for this
When Sergeant Dennis Jarrin became an Ocean Township Local
371 member 18 years ago, he might not have planned to ride in the
Police Unity Tour, but he definitely didn’t plan on having his son,
Chris Jarrin from Ocean County Sherriff’s Department Local 379,
ride alongside him.
“It’s a very emotional feeling because it’s not often that a father
and son get to ride on the same team,” Dennis expressed.
Dennis began riding in the Unity Tour three years ago. This year,
he was honored with the duty of becoming a ride marshal. He
credits his selection for the role of ride marshal to the Chapter 10
president, who noticed Dennis’ strong riding skills and stamina in
previous rides.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ JUNE 2018
Inspired by his father’s efforts, Chris knew that he had to take
part in the Tour after becoming a member of Local 379 this year.
“I rode because of my Dad,” Chris explained. “Attending last year
and seeing how many people were here made me want to ride.”
Chris knew that the ride was not going to be easy. To prepare
Chris for the strenuous ride, his father passed down his 1979
Schwinn bicycle for Chris to ride in a local bike race. Dennis told
Chris that if he did well and proved himself, he’d be rewarded with
a newer bicycle to ride in the Unity Tour.
From there, the father and son duo trained for the challenging
ride in several different bicycle races throughout the year. When the
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