‘It’s humbling’: End of Watch Ride to Remember honors the fallen

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Our law enforcement takes on their job knowing there’s a chance they won’t make it home to their family.

In the pandemic, their risk was even bigger, with COVID taking several of our local heroes from us.

Corporal Gregory Campbell in Richmond County, Officer Stephen Jones in Barnwell, and Officer Dustin Beasley in North Augusta all died from COVID-19.

Here’s a group traveling across the country to honor all the officers we’ve lost.

A parking lot was filled with people who knew Dustin Beasley. Fellow officers, his police chief, his wife, and his son.

“It was great that we could all be together and honor him together,” said his wife Candace Beasley.

It’s emotional for her seeing the trailer roll-up.

“It was overwhelming, that’s for sure. Seeing all these officers that lost their lives this year, it was overwhelming to see my husband’s face on it, especially walking with my child,” she said.

Jagrut Shah, founder, Beyond the Call of Duty said: “You’re talking about a mother who has a young child that now is left alone without the ability to have somebody to even just talk to.”

Shah created ‘End of Watch Ride to Remember’ to honor fallen officers. They’re taking a trailer to hundreds of departments across the country. It’s covered with more than 600 faces. Each one is an officer who lost their life last year.

“It’s humbling to all of us. We’re all volunteers. We give up our summers to do this,” said Shah.

We asked Dustin’s wife what he would think of all this.

“He would hate it, absolutely hate it. He would hate all the attention. He did not do it for the fame,” she said.

Beasley did it because he loved to serve. Those who loved him made sure Beasley would not be forgotten.

Shah says they also connect families of fallen officers with other families going through this so they can support each other.

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