Teri King was tired of listening to news reports of many people in the country speaking negatively of police officers, so she decided to do something about it.
The 58-year-old Berwyn resident has no family members who work in law enforcement, but she believes that made for an even better reason to organize Blue Ribbon Walk Chicagoland, a walk in support of police officers that begins at noon Sunday in the parking area of Oakbrook Center, between Pinstripes, 7 Oakbrook Center, and Walter E. Smith Furniture, 1501 16th St.
“I think it means more to all of those police officers out there that I am not in a law enforcement family,” said King, who began organizing the walk Dec. 23 and set up a Facebook page for it at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Ribbon-Walk-Chicagoland/1588581821354208?sk=timeline.
“It sounds like everyone is protesting against the cops, but I think that 90 percent of the country believes in law and order. We need to show the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday for us that we believe in them.”
King said she chose Oak Brook for Blue Ribbon Walk Chicagoland because of its location.
“Oak Brook is centrally located, and there are restaurants and other things to do for people who come out,” she said. “I think we could have 25,000 people show up, and that includes a lot of police officers and their families, and others who just want to show their support for these people who are there to protect us.”