Monday, May 4, 2015

Idaho State Police to Honor a Boise Woman Riding in the Police Unity Tour in Memory of Fallen Trooper

Trooper Linda C. Huff
IDAHO STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE
Teresa Baker
Public Information Officer
Headquarters
700 S. Stratford Dr., Meridian 83642
(208) 884-7122
Fax (208) 884-7087

For Immediate Release: 5/4/15 at 2:15 p.m.

MERIDIAN - Idaho State Police will honor and send off a Boise woman who will ride in the Police Unity Tour in memory of one of ISP's five fallen troopers. Toshi Kempkes, will ride in memory of Trooper Linda Huff who was shot and killed in the line of duty on June 17, 1998, in Coeur d'Alene. Toshi will begin the almost 300 mile ride in East Hanover, New Jersey on May 9th and will finish on May 12th at the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, DC.

Idaho State Police Colonel Ralph Powell and other ISP personnel will meet Toshi and send her off on Tuesday, May 5th at 10:00 a.m. at the Idaho Peace Officer Memorial in Meridian.

Toshi will ride in memory of Trooper Huff, as well as, her brother, Sergeant Dan Sakai, and three other Oakland Police Department officers that were killed in the line of duty on March 21, 2009 in Oakland, California. Toshi has ridden each May since 2010 in memory of all law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

The Police Unity Tour, established in May 1997, has the primary purpose of raising awareness of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty and to honor their sacrifice, and the secondary purpose of raising funds for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum. Started by Officer Patrick P. Montuore of the Florham Park Police Department, 18 riders embarked on a 4-day fundraising bicycle ride from Florham Park, NJ, to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC, raising $18,000. In 2014, over 1,800 members made the trip, and the Police Unity Tour donated $1.9 million to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Riders are inspired by the Tour's commitment and the motto, "WE RIDE FOR THOSE WHO DIED." The ride starts in East Hanover, NJ, on May 9th, with stops in Somerset, NJ, Wilmington, DE, and Annapolis, MD, arriving at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial on May 12th. For more information about the Tour or to make a pledge, please visit http://policeunitytour.com/.

Visit the memorial pages for Trooper Linda Huff on the Officer Down Memorial Page at http://www.odmp.org/officer/15104-state-trooper-linda-carol-huff and the Idaho Peace Officer Memorial Page at http://www.idahopeaceofficersmemorial.com/linda-carol-huff.

The Officer Down Memorial Page for Sgt. Dan Sakai and the other fallen Oakland Police Department officers can be found at http://www.odmp.org/officer/19881-sergeant-daniel-takashi-sakai.

-----------