6th Annual Ride for Ron Scheduled Oct. 7

It's been six years since Hillsborough County Sheriff's Sgt Ron Harrison, 55, was gunned down at the intersection of Lumsden Road and Kings Avenue.

However, family, friends and co-workers haven't forgotten the amiable law enforcement officer who was always willing to help others.

So, for the sixth year, there will be a Ride for Ron in remembrance of Harrison. This year's motorcycle ride will take place Sunday, Oct. 7 starting at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #108, 9001 N. Taylor Rd. in Seffner, with kickstands up at 10 a.m.

The ride will leave the FOP, travel through the Ron Harrison Memorial Intersection at Kings Avenue and Lumsden Road and stop for a short break at the Harley-Davidson of Tampa dealership, 9841 E. Adamo Dr., Tampa, before continuing back to the lodge.

On Aug. 15, 2007, a few minutes after 1 a.m., Harrison, a 27-year law enforcement veteran, had just finished a DUI checkpoint on State Road 60 and was sitting in his patrol car near the intersection of Lumsden Road and Kings Avenue in Brandon.

That's when Michael Allen Phillips, of 1707 Village Court, Brandon, approached his vehicle and fired a gun into the car through the open passenger side window, striking Harrison multiple times. Harrison later died at Brandon Regional Hospital.

Phillips, 24, later died in a standoff with sheriff's snipers.

Preregistration for the ride begins at 9 a.m. There is no cost, however, donations will be collected for Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Hillsborough County.

For more information, contact Becky Gage, MADD Hillsborough County
Office, 813-273-6233 or cell 813-431-5826.