100 cyclists raise money for the families of COVID victims.
LAPD: On July 24, approximately 100 bicyclists mainly from the Mission, Foothill and Communications Divisions rode to raise funds and awareness for Officer Val Martinez, the first sworn LAPD employee reported to succumb to the coronavirus.
The ride, exactly a year after the death of Val Martinez, took place in Mission Hills. It began at the Mission Division station and continued through Pacoima, San Fernando, Sylmar and Granada Hills, the communities he patrolled.
PSR III Ray Guerrero of Communications Division and Sgt. Fred Cueto of Foothill Division were also memorialized on the day.
Megan Flynn, Officer Martinez’s domestic partner, gave birth to the couple’s twin boys in November, after Officer Martinez had passed. The bicycle event was meant to raise funds for the twins. Her GoFundMe page has raised more than $36,000.
Martinez was the department’s first sworn officer, and second employee overall, to die from COVID-19.
At the biking event.
