Motorcycle club hosts ‘Back the Blue’ ride Saturday

TULSA, Okla. — A motorcycle club made up of law enforcement is hosting a “Back the Blue” ride Saturday.

Organizers are expecting up to 1,000 people.

“We’re a family, we all realize that we’ve been through circumstances where we’ve put each other’s lives in each other’s hands and that’s a tight knit group and that’s hard to explain if you’ve never done that,” said Tulsa Police Sgt. Robert Bryan.

Participants will gather along the route to support motorcyclists who are supporting the families of Sgt. Craig Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan. The two officers were shot in the line of duty in June.

“We wanted the ride to be significant so we decided to ride by the three different patrol divisions which is where both of them worked,” Bryan said.

The ride will start at the FOP Lodge on 21st Street, then pass by the Mingo Valley Division, then Gilcrease Division through downtown TPD Headquarters and will also pass by Floral Haven Cemetery.

“We’re actually going to drive by the cemetery where Sgt. Craig Johnson is buried,” Bryan said. “So, it’s a good way for us to connect a lot of locations to honor them and a lot of people were excited about that.”

Registration starts at 9 a.m. at the FOP Lodge on 21st Street. It’s $20 for riders and $10 for passengers with 100 percent of the money raised going to the families of Sgt. Craig Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan.

Back the Blue - Tulsa Hundreds register for Back the Blue event Saturday at the FOP Lodge in Tulsa. (Amanda Gilbert )

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