SAN ANTONIO — A detective with the San Antonio Police Department is lacing up his shoes and preparing to run with a purpose this week.
It won't be just any regular run for Benjamin Garcia; starting Thursday, he'll be hitting the pavement for 800 miles from Amarillo to McAllen. His mission: raising money for Concerns of Police Survivors, or C.O.P.S., an organization with works to help the families and colleagues of fallen officers in their time of need.
"This organization just goes and lifts up these these families," Garcia said.
C.O.P.S. is a national organization that began in 1984 and now boasts a membership of more than 80,000 survivors, according to the group's website. It's comprised of more than 50 chapters across the U.S., offering hands-on support through counseling and survivors' retreats, while also making it easier to access state benefits.
"To help them in the process of grieving and counseling with anything and everything that the family will need, to just gather up the pieces and and continue on," Garcia added.
The detective says he's witnessed the organization's work firsthand.
"(They work with) not just the family, they also reach out to the departments. Some of these officers, they have their partners, their coworkers that have suffered this loss as well."
Garcia, an ultramarathoner, says he's put in lots of miles preparing for this run, which would be his longest. His previous longest run was 273 miles, from San Antonio to McAllen.
Garcia's journey will begin Thursday from the Amarillo Police Department. It's expected to end at the McAllen Police Department.
Garcia will be running about 40 miles a day. As for what fuels him (literally), you might be surprised.
"I tell most people what fills me is pizza, beer and burgers and tacos."
You can follow Detective Garcia on his journey through his Facebook page I'm Ben, and I'm Running With You. You can also donate directly to C.O.P.S. through its website or the QR code below.
Donations will help grieving families and their blue families in their time of need.
"Knowing that someone is there to just help in any way, form or fashion to make them feel that they're not alone," Garcia said. "It just it overwhelms me tremendously."