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Blue Ribbon Walk Organizers Hoping For Strong Support From Chicago Police

 The Blue Ribbon Walk in Mount Greenwood brought out more than 100 police supporters on Jan. 3. This neighborhood event is being followed up by a national Blue Ribbon Walk on Saturday.
Blue Ribbon Walk
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MOUNT GREENWOOD — Supporters of police throughout the country have taken a page out of the Mount Greenwood playbook.

The Blue Ribbon Walk will happen in various towns and cities nationwide on Saturday. The nearest walk to the Southwest Side is slated for noon at 111th Street and Central Avenue in suburban Oak Lawn.

Participants will walk west to Ridgeland Avenue and then travel northbound. The Blue Ribbon walk ends at the American Legion Post 1160 at 10739 Ridgeland Ave. in Chicago Ridge.

Steve and Marnie Coyne of Mount Greenwood are helping to organize the event and are hoping for strong support from 19th Ward residents. Steve Coyne is a 17-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department.

"People just don't understand what is going on with these officers," Steve's wife, Marnie Coyne said on Wednesday.

Marnie Coyne was among the organizers of a Blue Ribbon Walk in Mount Greenwood on Jan. 3. Some 100 people showed up in the rain for the event that happened in the wake of strong anti-police sentiment following the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and others at the hands of officers.

Coyne said this attitude remains, particularly after riots over police brutality erupted in Baltimore and as demonstrators took to the streets of Chicago last month to protest a Cook County judge's decision to acquit the detective who killed Rekia Boyd.

She doesn't condone the actions of police officers guilty of wrongdoing. But Coyne said too often all police officers suffer for the actions of the few.

"Nobody wants to be judged by one but that's what's happening to our police officers," she said.

A pair of motorcycle clubs and at least one bagpiper have already signed on for the suburban Blue Ribbon Walk. A short ceremony and light refreshments will follow the walk at the American Legion.

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