Centreville Man Bikes in Memory of Slain Law Officers

Centreville’s Kevin Whalen has been in law enforcement most of his adult life, but the dangers of his job really hit home five years ago when a lone gunman ambushed and killed two officers outside the .

Fairfax County Police Detective Vicky O. Armel and Officer Michael E. Garbarino were shot fatally on a gray drizzly afternoon May 8, 2006, becoming the first two officers killed in a line-of-duty shooting in Fairfax County history. The gunman was also killed in the exchange of gunfire.

Whalen, 48, a senior special agent for the Treasury Department, had been in a shootout with bad guys before, but this time it was in his own backyard.

“It happened right here in my community and my family,” Whalen said, “to officers who are protecting me and my family. And, it was just the really violent way it happened to both of them.” 

“Being a Centreville resident, that really hit home,” Whalen said.

Moved by the officers’ deaths, Whalen wanted to do something more to make sure their sacrifices were not forgotten. The National Law Enforcement Museum, in Washington D.C., pays tribute to officers killed in the line of duty and has their names, 18,983 of them, inscribed on its walls.

Whalen had always been a big supporter of the memorial, but decided to join the Police Unity Tour, an annual bike ride that raises money to maintain and expand the memorial. Whalen wasn’t much of a bike rider and had just given away a nice road bike a while before deciding to join the tour.

The three-day, 200-mile ride, from May 10-12, starts in Richmond, travels to Charlottesville and then through Centreville on Route 29 to RFK Stadium in Washington. The riders plan to hit the intersection of Routes 28 and 29 at about 9:30 a.m. on May 12.

“That’s the last stretch and we hope to have folks out there cheering us on,” said Whelan, who will be making his fourth ride. “It can exhaust you.”

Whelan will be riding a new Specialized 18-speed touring bike. Last year the tour raised $1.3 million for the memorial. Each rider is responsible for raising a $1,700 minimum donation and Whelan has raised more than $5,000 so far. He credits local businesses that are helping, including , , Franklins Printing in Chantilly, and Casey's Auto. Whalen also has a final fundraiser set for May 6 at the .

Dr. John Barnes, at the chiropractic clinic, has been offering for the month of April an initial consultation and evaluation for a $25 donation to the tour on behalf of Whalen, who is a patient at the clinic.

“We’ve been longtime sponsors of Kevin and it’s a really worthwhile event,” Barnes said.

This year Whalen is riding in memory of Virginia State Trooper Mark D. Barrett, 41, who died last September during a scuba-diving training exercise on Lake Anna in Louisa County.

“It’s a tough ride,” Whalen said, “but it really says something that you are riding in the memory and honor of a fallen officer.”