700 motorcycles tour Alle-Kiski Valley to remember Officer Brian Shaw

They rode in remembrance.

The second annual Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship Ride and Event welcomed more than 700 motorcycles under a brilliant blue sky Sunday.

The 41-mile charity ride kicked off at 10 a.m. at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar, with an almost two-hour route that led bikers through the Alle-Kiski Valley. Among the communities that the ride passed through were Frazer, Tarentum, Harrison, Freeport, Ford City, Lower Burrell, Vandergrift, Allegheny Township, Lower Burrell, New Kensington, Springdale and Cheswick.

There were more than 700 motorcyles registered for the ride. Since hundreds of drivers had a passenger on the back, it was estimated that at least 1,000 people rode in the motorcade.

Shaw, a Lower Burrell resident and New Kensington police officer, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in November 2017 in New Kensington. He was 25.

“We are hoping this ride is a sustainable event,” said Steve Freiberg, a Buffalo Township police officer and event participant/volunteer.

Freiberg worked with Shaw in West Deer.

“This is a great ride for a great cause, and it’s meant to do great things,” Freiberg said.

The event included live entertainment, food and auction baskets with more than 130 local businesses, individuals and organizations donating.

Last year’s proceeds raised more than $40,000 for a scholarship bearing Shaw’s name that helps future officers attend the Allegheny County Police Training Academy, from which Shaw graduated. The amount of proceeds from Sunday’s event was not immediately available.