Freedom Riders from Newport Police Department Return Home to Celebration

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — The Freedom Ride Project initiative came to a close over the weekend when rider Detective Jason Prince and planning support/crew member Deputy Chief David McGill returned to their hometown of Newport Beach after a week of riding in support of Human Trafficking awareness.

Newport Beach residents and officials gathered to cheer Prince on to the finish line after the lengthy ride. The Freedom Ride was a 15-day bike ride covering approximately 1,500 miles. It started in Bend, Oregon and finished at the Newport Dunes in Newport Beach, California on 24, 2016. The course wound across back roads and hills in Oregon, then followed the ocean along the Pacific Coast to finish in Newport Beach.

Human Trafficking awareness events took place in designated towns along the route, according to Jennifer Manzella, Public Information Officer for the Newport Beach Police Department.

While the bicyclist crossed the finish line along with his support crew, Newport Beach Police Department officials paid tribute to the sheer effort of riding from Bend, Oregon to Newport Beach, California. They also alerted all to the next steps for Newport Beach's human trafficking task force.

"This is a great day for us at the Newport Beach Police Department. We are honored to support the Freedom Ride Project in their mission to raise awareness about human trafficking," Newport Beach Police Chief Jon T. Lewis said at the finish line. "We are so very proud of them. In every mile of their journey from Bend, Oregon, this ride has educated people that human trafficking a global human rights issue, that it is relevant, and that it matters."

Education on Human Trafficking is only part of the problem, according to Lewis.

"In my line of work, we also have the opportunity to intervene, to work with our law and justice partners to take action against the people who so heartlessly exploit the young and the vulnerable," Lewis said. "Today, I am proud to announce that the Newport Beach Police Department will be committing one full-time police officer to the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force."

The officer will be dedicated to combating human trafficking, protecting victims, and stopping the criminals who perpetuate and profit from this modern-day slavery, Lewis stated.

"I know that the strength of the Task Force is in its members’ diversity. This is not solely a law enforcement project, or a community outreach project, or a social services project: this is a humanitarian project," Lewis said. "With the placement of this officer, the Newport Beach Police Department gladly lends our training, our investigatory skills, our resourcefulness, our integrity, and our dedication to this most worthy cause."

According to Lewis, doing the right thing hand in hand with doing one's job is a special mission for the department.

"In law enforcement, you have the opportunity to do your job AND do the right thing," he said. "This is one of those special opportunities.