LEWISTON — John Brubaker of North Yarmouth was moved by the recent events surrounding police officers across the country. So moved, in fact, that he decided to get out and do something about it.

That’s how the Blue Ribbon Walk came about. Brubaker organized the 50-mile hike to raise awareness and donations for Concerns of Police Survivors, or COPS, a support program for families of officers killed in the line of duty.

Laura Mowry, 29, from California, heard about the walk from Brubaker, and flew in to take part in it. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” she said.

“In high school, a close friend’s brother was killed in action in the Army,” Mowry said. “That was my first real introduction to those who serve and protect. Later on, I worked with the military and have seen the day-to-day sacrifices from them. We don’t do enough to acknowledge that. This walk is about those who have paid the ultimate price. As a nation, we have the responsibility to do everything we can to help families who have been affected rebuild.”

She added, “If an issue doesn’t directly affect you, it can get overlooked, so we need to help raise awareness and understanding. It’s just as important as raising money.”

Matt Timberlake, president of Ted Berry Co. in Livermore, was determined to walk the whole 50 miles.

“Watching what’s happened in the country recently, it’s very unsettling what’s happened to cops,” Timberlake said. “And I could sit around and complain or get out and walk. I don’t have a connection, but my family is home safe because of what (police officers) do.”

Mary and Charlie Black were the most personally affected of those we walked.

“I lost my dad three weeks before I was born,” Charlie Black said. “My mom was left pregnant and with two sons.”

Black’s father, Trooper Charles Black, was shot during a bank robbery in South Berwick on July 9, 1964, when one of the suspects took the trooper’s gun and fired five times. He was the first Maine State Police trooper to be killed in the line of duty.

Charlie Black’s mother, Mary, said she would not walk every mile. “I’ll be 80 in two months. But I’ll walk the first and the last mile, at least.”

Her son said, “We know the devastation of getting that phone call, or seeing the officers walk up to your door, hats off. We can sympathize with that. That event affected our family for four generations.”

Black said he and his mother were also there to support COPS.

“When it happened to us, there was no support program,” he said, “but I’ve been to their programs now and have seen what they do to help and support someone, to help them get through.”

Brubaker had the idea to walk a mile in a cop’s shoes, so he walked in tactical police boots and a 10-pound bulletproof vest.

“I decided I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem,” he said. “I want to lead by example.”

He said, “I have a wife and two kids who don’t have to worry, ‘Is daddy going to come home safely?’ But ask any family with someone in law enforcement, and that is a question they have to ask. The reason my family doesn’t have to worry is because of officers putting their life on the line.”

He wanted the two-day walk to end on Patriot Day, a day to remember 9/11, the day when the most police officers died on the job.

“We’re out here in the heat walking, and there are people walking in 17 other states,” he said. “Maybe they’re not walking the whole 50 miles, but they’re out.”

Brubaker added, “It’s enough to be taxing and time-consuming. You have to dedicate the whole weekend. It’s showing gratitude to police who give 365 days a year.

Local troopers and sheriff’s deputies were more than happy to help. For the Gray to Auburn portion of the walk, Sgt. Ryan Smith of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department was escorting the group.

Brubaker said he was glad they used Route 202, because the shoulder is wide and the roads are visible. “We’ve been getting people who are driving by stop and ask what we’re doing, asking how they can help,” he said. 

By noon Saturday the group was 10 miles into the trek, and feeling right on schedule. “We’re trying to do 27 miles today and the rest Sunday,” Brubaker said.

Everyone walking in the fundraiser was being put up for the overnight stay by The Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn, and being fed dinner by Marco’s Italian Restaurant.

Brubaker’s goal is to make this an annual event in all 50 states.

To donate to Concerns of Police Survivors, a group organized to help the families of police officers killed in the line of duty, visit blueribbonwalk.com, and to learn more about COPS visit www.nationalcops.org