{"id":800153,"date":"2026-07-13T23:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/800153\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T23:56:10","slug":"cops-cycling-for-survivors-stops-at-wabash-valley-correctional-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/800153\/","title":{"rendered":"Cops Cycling for Survivors stops at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

CARLISLE, Ind. (WTHI) – Corrections officers, staff and family members gathered Monday at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to welcome Cops Cycling for Survivors<\/a>, an organization that raises money and awareness for the loved ones of fallen officers. <\/p>\n

The group is currently 8 days into a 13 day journey, with officers, friends and family riding along for one day, a few days, or all 13. The ride began on July 6th at the Indianapolis Indiana Police and Fire Memorial and concludes on July 18th at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. For more information about their route click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The correctional facility presented Cops Cycling for Survivors with a $1,500 donation during the stop.<\/p>\n

A stop rooted in loss<\/p>\n

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility has been a stop on the ride since 2013, following the death of correctional officer Tim Betts the year before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor for us to host them every year, it\u2019s one of our highlights of the year \u2014 one of their stops being here,\u201d Warden Keith Vinardi said. \u201cEspecially to honor our staff that have fallen and to continue to honor all the staff that have fallen in the line of duty in law enforcement and corrections and things of that nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vinardi said the facility\u2019s support of the organization dates back more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this since 2013, after the passing of one of our officers,\u201d Vinardi said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been big supporters of Cops Cycling for Survivors ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rider in his ninth year reflects on the mission<\/p>\n

Justin Reeder, a sergeant with the Porter County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a>, is in his ninth year riding with the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt first started out as, \u2018hey you like riding bikes, why don\u2019t you go represent the agency and ride a bike for a fallen officer,\u2019\u201d Reeder said. \u201cI had never heard of it and I dove in, did one ride and was hooked after that. It became more than just a bike ride \u2014 you really got to see how much pain and suffering these survivors deal with on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reeder said supporting survivors and raising money for organizations that directly assist them is what keeps him returning each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if the officer passed away last week, last year, 100 years ago,\u201d Reeder said. \u201cThere is still pain and suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reeder said the ride also gives participants a chance to learn about the officers being honored.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou also get to humanize that officer \u2014 it\u2019s more than a name on the wall or on the truck,\u201d Reeder said. \u201cYou learn who the officer was, the jokes that they had, their favorite song, their favorite food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reeder encouraged the public to show support if they see the group on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said it multiple times throughout my years in this \u2014 the thin blue line, it\u2019s not thin in Indiana, it\u2019s truly thick and full of supporters,\u201d Reeder said.<\/p>\n

For more information or to donate visit copscycling4survivors.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WTHI. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CARLISLE, Ind. (WTHI) – Corrections officers, staff and family members gathered Monday at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":800154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-800153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}