Valley native to bike in Police Unity Tour

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Police Unity Tour -- a bike ride to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial -- will include a 1978 East High School graduate who works in Florida.
In May, during National Police Week, Sgt. Jose Medina of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department will ride his bike about 750 miles to Chesapeake, Va., to join up with other Police Unity Tour participants. The group will then ride 250 miles to the memorial in Washington, D.C.
Medina, who has been in Florida the past 13 years, said he will return to Youngstown after the ride for a visit with his mother, who still lives on the East Side.
"I still miss Youngstown," Medina said.
He said he was saddened when he learned that Youngstown Patrolman Michael T. Hartzell's name had been engraved on the police memorial in Washington. Hartzell was shot and killed in the line of duty April 29, 2003.
The unity tour raises money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Information about the bike ride is at this Web site: www.policeunitytour.org.