The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries hosted the first lunch stop 2023 for the Gulf Coast Brotherhood Bike Ride group today at the agency’s Baton Rouge headquarters. The Louisiana Wildlife Agent’s Association provided a jambalaya lunch for around 30 bicycle riders and guests.
LDWF Secretary Rob Shadoin welcomed the riders and led them in prayer near the agency’s Fallen Officer Monument.
The Gulf Coast Brotherhood Ride honors fallen officers in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama by riding bicycles to locations that had a first responder die while in the line of duty in the past year. They began a 415-mile trip today from Holden, La., and will wind up Oct. 13 in Orange Beach, Ala., honoring 12 fallen first responders along the way.
The riders are honoring:
- Firefighter Scott Osenenko from the Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 4, LA
- Police Officer James Ellis Foster Jr. from the Denham Springs Police Department, LA
- Sergeant Nicholas W. Tullier from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, LA
- Master Trooper Adam Christopher Gaubert from the Louisiana State Police, LA
- Police Officer Thomas Joseph LaValley from the Shreveport Police Department, LA
- Patrolman Austin Spencer Bush from the Houma Police Department, LA
- Detective Stephen Christopher Arnold from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, LA
- Reserve Deputy Constable Martinus Melvin Mitchum from the Second City Court of New Orleans Constable’s Office, LA
- Sergeant Theresa Elizabeth Simon from the Slidell Police Department, LA
- Lieutenant Michael Anthony Boutte Sr. from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, MS
- Deputy Sheriff William Henry Smith Jr. from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, AL
- Police Officer Ivan Mauricio Lopez from the Mount Vernon Police Department, AL
For more information about the Gulf Coast Brotherhood Ride, please visit https://gulfcoastbrotherhoodride.com/
For video media, this link is about 30 seconds of unedited video from today's Bike Ride event.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/e2z0o0r6z91sysnfh64w4/h?rlkey=8qq2b1pzwhqwfky0yrs54cipk&dl=0