SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Family, first responders and other supporters of Terre Haute police officer Rob Pitts gathered to honor his life.
To begin the opening ceremony, over 50 names were read of those who lost their lives in the line of duty, including Pitts, who lost who his life on May 4, 2018.
“We wanted to do an event just in awareness of his death and sacrifice,” said George Pitts, Rob Pitt’s brother. “In doing so, we wanted to raise money for Indiana Cop Cycling for Survivors. They make a 1,000 mile, 13-day trip around the state visiting fallen officers, families and gravesites.”
The ceremony was followed by a kids run, 5K run and 196 team hero workout consisting of running, pushups, sit-ups and air squats. More than 330 people from seven different states participated in the first annual “Run for Rob” event.
Not only did the event honor Pitts, but it also remembered other fallen police officers and firefighters. To help do so, Zechariah Cartledge, founder of Running For Hero’s, has run 894 miles in 13 states leading up to Saturday’s run in support of first responders.
“I’m really glad to be doing something good in the world to help out our first responders and be the light of kids,” said Cartledge. “I just picked up a flag and said I want to go do these runs and it turned into this national organization.”
Greg Pitts said while it is difficult not to get emotional when talking about his brother, it was wonderful to see the support of everyone who came out for his family.
“He was passionate about his family, his community and he was always wanting to serve people,” said Greg Pitts. “Rob wasn’t one to show off his awards or citations. It wasn’t about awards for him. It was about helping people.”
Greg hopes other agencies and organizations will help to keep his brother and other first responders’ names alive by continuing to honor them.
