POSTED 8:55 PM, JUNE 7, 2018, BY FOX 17’S DAWILKIE AND CANDESE CHARLES, UPDATED AT 09:12AM, JUNE 10, 2018
WEST OLIVE, Mich. — A volunteer sheriff’s deputy from Kent County ran across Michigan while raising money for MI-COPS, Michigan Concerns of Police Survivors.
Matt Gabrino ran the full 160 miles across the state, starting at the Fallen Heroes Monument in Oakland County and working his way west, ending Thursday at the Protectors Monument in front of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office in West Olive.
The run started with Lieutenant Governor and Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Calley who was by his side for the first 13 miles. Along the way, he met with families of fallen officers and also stopped by monuments. Gabrino did this while carrying a Thin Blue Line Flag. 590 officers have been killed in the line of duty, and since May, four more officers have been killed while in the line of duty.
He is impressing everyone by doing this run including his fellow officers who said, “I mean to run 160 miles in four days, I honestly don’t know how he does it. Logistically there is a lot of moving parts here so I think all that planning is paying off. It’s been well organized and the response has been fantastic.”
Gabrino originally set out to raise a goal of $5,000 for the families of the fallen heroes, and that goal was surpassed. No word yet on exactly what that total is.