The community in Phoenix is ardently pulling together to support the family of a local hero, fallen Phoenix Police Officer Zane Coolidge. Biker clubs across the Valley took to the streets, their presence a show of solidarity, during a recent fundraiser. According to FOX 10 Phoenix, they conducted an event in Glendale on Oct. 12, where club members of diverse affiliations rode in to bolster the officer's bereaved family.
Officer Coolidge, tragically fallen in the line of duty, has become a nexus of unity, drawing together communities often seen as disparate. Aaron Souza, the organizer behind the bike night fundraiser, emphasized this collective bond, "It doesn’t matter what background you’re from, what group you’re with, what you ride, we’re all here to show that brotherhood," he told FOX 10 Phoenix. At the heart of this unity lies an unspoken but acutely felt empathy for an officer's daily sacrifice—a sentiment powerfully echoed by attendee Barrett Jones, "It’s the only job, you leave in the morning and nobody knows if you're coming back or not."
Phoenix's support for Officer Coolidge didn't merely stop at bikers revving their engines. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association hosted another fundraising event, a barbeque, to ensure continued support for his family, which was held on Sept. 10. 12News reported that all proceeds from this event were pledged to the family of Officer Coolidge, who leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.
Adding another layer to the tragedy, it was revealed that Officer Matthew Haney, injured alongside Coolidge, was also seriously hurt in the incident, though he has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home. Reflecting on the gravity of these events, Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan poignantly expressed to 12News, "He was an officer, but he was a father, a husband, a brother, a son, that’s not there anymore.” Contributions to the fallen and the surviving can also be made through donation pages set up by the PLEA and the Phoenix Police Foundation.
