Fran Aller still vividly remembers his dimples.
She was among those who saw Brian Shaw come to the Sheetz in New Kensington during his brief stint as a city police officer before he was shot and killed during a traffic stop in November 2017.
“He was always smiling,” Aller said. “I could always see his cute little dimples.”
Aller was among the volunteers helping with the seventh annual Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship Ride, which saw about 640 motorcycles ride a 74-mile route through nearly two dozen communities in the Alle-Kiski Valley on Saturday, starting and ending at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar.
The drive, which raises approximately $40,000 each year, funds two $6,000 scholarships awarded each year to cadets at the Allegheny County Police Academy.
“We believe it’s the largest charity motorcycle ride in Western Pennsylvania,” said Eric Felack, the tour’s communications director. “We send two police officers out on the road every year to honor Brian.”
Felack said that in addition to Shaw, they would also honor ride supporters Dave “Mogie” Magill and Terry Kuhns, both of whom have died since the ride last year. Magill was shot and killed outside his business, Mogie’s Irish Pub, in Lower Burrell in December. Kuhns, the police chief in Frazer, died in April.
Stacey Slagle of Delmont also works at Sheetz and remembers seeing Shaw at the New Kensington store. She worked her way up from making coffee and overseeing raffle baskets to becoming president of this year’s drive.
On Saturday, the weather was muggy with threatening clouds. Felack said the threat of rain and thunderstorms may have deterred some riders from coming, but it didn’t rain — and Slagle said it never rains on ride day.
“That was probably the scariest part,” Slagle said. “The weather is the only thing you can’t control.”
While members of the Shaw family declined media interviews, Felack said Brian Shaw’s brother, Steffan Shaw, expressed appreciation for the support of the bikers and volunteers who carry on Brian’s memory and legacy as a police officer.
The riders came from near and far, some were here for the first time, others had been there many times.
About 75 participants were expected from City Kings, a national motorcycle club of retired police officers, and more than a dozen of them were from Oakland, California, said Gabe Cervantez, a co-founder and retired Oakland police officer with 26 years of service.
“We have always honored our own people,” Cervantez said. “The thin blue line runs from California to Pennsylvania.”
Vince Gavin, a retired accountant from Ross, joined the ride for the first time on his Harley-Davidson Street Glide. He didn’t come as part of a group, but became part of a group during the ride.
“Better late than never, especially when you’re 73,” he said. “As the Romans would say, you have to seize the moment.”
Among the three-wheeled participants was Tim Anchors of Murrysville, driving a Polaris Slingshot with his younger brother Bill of Plum as his passenger. This year was Tim Anchors’ fourth time participating in the ride.
“It’s just a good thing,” he said. “I enjoy the camaraderie.”
Marissa Pastories watched from her home in Harmar as the riders left the Pittsburgh Shrine Center. She then headed to Lower Burrell with her friend Sophie Andrews, and they watched from their Jeep as the riders traveled along Leechburg Road from Lower Burrell, where Shaw lived, to New Kensington, where he had served.
Pastories said she has been observing the trip for three years now.
“If I had a motorcycle, I would join in,” she said. “It’s nice. There’s always a good turnout. It’s great to see all the motorcycles.”
“It brings the community together.”
Shaw was a police officer in Frazer for two years before transferring to New Kensington in 2017, five months before his death. While he was at Frazer, Kaye Meyers of Lower Burrell said Shaw stopped her daughter because a tail light on her Volkswagen had burned out.
Meyers said her daughter thought Shaw was cute.
When the motorcycles arrived, Meyers got out of her SUV and waved as they passed on Leechburg Road.
“I just have a soft spot for police officers. There are a lot of military people in my family,” she said. “I just think that’s what I should do.”
And although there is sadness, “there is also joy because all these bikers sacrificed their time. They are keeping his life alive,” she said.
“I think it’s beautiful.”
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a reporter for TribLive covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. Brian is a Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Penn State University’s Schreyer Honors College. He has been with the Trib since December 2000. Reach him at [email protected].
