s
3
Birth of an institution
The Police Unity Tour was never intended to be an
annual event, describes Founder Pat Montuore. But
after the successful launch, it turned out to be a “let’s do
it again next year,” he describes, “and then it became a
movement.”
“It started in 1997 and in 1998 we said we’d do another year,” Montuore recalls. “We weren’t publicizing; just
reaching people by word of mouth.”
The Tour essentially carried on year-to-year until
2001, when the Sept. 11 attacks changed everything.
“After 9-11, when nothing like that had occurred in
the U.S., we were banding together and said we were
going to stand together,” Montuore declares. “After that,
I said this was never going to stop. It’s going to go as
long as I’m alive and then even after.”
Every subsequent Unity Tour has grown in number
of riders, money raised, and it has engrained itself into
the fibers of National Police Week and law enforcement
itself.
“It’s a part of what we do in law enforcement,” Montuore elaborates. “The Police Unity Tour is a part of law
enforcement and a part of the individual who rides. It’s
more than just a cycling ride to Washington, D.C.
So when reflecting on 20 years, Montuore is amazed
to just be able to say it has lasted this long.
“This year we will surpass $20 million and we’ve gone
from 18 to 1,900 riders representing about 25 states and
a couple countries,” he added. “That’s an unbelievable
milestone for law enforcement to come together and
represent their core beliefs and also to educate and
maintain the Memorial.”
4
Revving up for Year 2
By the second year of the Unity Tour, ridership had
grown to 37 and there proved to be a need for police
escort from New Jersey to Washington, D.C. Four
motorcycles led the way, and one of those motor
officers was Jim Waldron, retired West Orange Local 25
member and now the Tour’s Chief Operating Officer.
“We jumped on board just to keep them safe. Everybody thought we were crazy,” Waldron recalls. “The
funniest part of that year is that it rained all the way
down. There was no fanfare. We didn’t even have a
scheduled arrival time. When we were getting close, we
called the National Law Enforcement Memorial and
they sent some people over.”
Waldron remembers in those early years that there
were no real spectators, and the motors were able to circle around the Memorial. His fondest memory from the
early years recalls when the riders and support staff
started wearing bracelets to commemorate the fallen
officers they rode for and presented them to the
officers’ families upon arrival.
“The ironic part of presenting bracelets to family
members is that they said, ‘Thank you for thinking of
our loved one,’” Waldron adds. “We’re not the ones who
gave our lives. We should be thanking them. I still have
trouble comprehending how somebody who lost a
loved one says, ‘thank you.’ But that’s what the Tour did
for people.”
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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MAY 2016
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