US Capitol Police officer runs across America to raise awareness about human trafficking

United States Capitol Police Officer Andrew Linder is running across America to raise awareness about human trafficking. 

His journey started back on Friday, March 1, at a pier in Santa Monica, California, and will end in New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, May 18.

As of Wednesday, May 15, he has run for 76 days straight, and at the end of it, the total length of this unprecedented feat will be 3,100 miles.

Officer Linder says he loves helping people and even when the days are tough, he just remembers why he is taking on this challenge – for a purpose greater than himself.

"When I got into law enforcement, I wanted to go after these types of people, finding the worst people on the planet was one of the things that motivated me so when I initially wanted to get into law enforcement this was my driving force," said Linder.

Staggering data reveals human trafficking is a $150 billion industry, and it’s happening in every single zip code in the United States. 

Officer Linder says thinking of the survivors is what motivates him day to day.

"We’ve dealt with some really bad weather and ya know, I got attacked by dogs in New Mexico," Linder said. "If I was doing this for me, I would’ve quit a long time ago. This was by far the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, it was challenging, it was grueling."

Officer Linder is taking on this challenge with positivity while being the first to do so, wearing a 15 lb. weighted vest, which serves as a reminder to people of the trauma victims of crime often carry with them.

"It was really to symbolize more that, the weight that these victims and survivors have to go through every single day. I could wear a 1,000-pound weighted vest, and it wouldn’t equivalate to what they deal with, but it was just to show people that they live with this for the rest of their lives," Linder said. 

So how is Officer Linder able to take off nearly 3 months of work to do this? Well, he has worked so many hours of overtime for USCP and turned those into comp days, so he is doing this on his own personal time. 

That truly speaks volumes to his commitment and dedication.

If you would like to learn more about the cause, visit piertopark.com. 

If you are interested in supporting by donating, click here.