BRIGHTON, Mich. (WOOD) — Monday morning marks the beginning of a Kent County reserve deputy's 160-mile trek across Michigan in honor of fallen officers.
Kent County Sheriff's Department Traffic Squad Reserve Deputy Matt Garbarino started his run after a short ceremony from his fellow reservists. Garbarino is journeying from the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Oakland County Sheriff's Office in Pontiac to the Protector Monument at the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office in West Olive.
In February, Garbarino told 24 Hour News 8 in February his run is for the 590 Michigan officers who have died in the line of duty. Since then, four more have lost their lives.
Garbarino said he will carry the Thin Blue Line American flag in support of police and those killed trying to protect our communities.
“(This run is) a simple way for me to try to make a big impact on raising that awareness. I’m not doing a race… there’s no medals. It’s not what that’s about. It’s about just using running and the caravan of some police cruisers to draw attention to this,” he said ahead of his run.
Garbarino lives in Byron Center and has served with the Kent County Sheriff's Office Traffic Squad unit since 2010.
You can donate to the run online at the Kent County Sheriff's Department Traffic Squad website.