Police Chief Steve McCarthy in 2010. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi. Click to enlarge)

Members of the Red Bank Police Benevolent Association plan a memorial bike ride this week for the late Chief Steve McCarthy, who died last September.

Thursday’s 25-mile ride to Brielle, expected to include between 50 and 70 officers and civilians, falls one day before the annual Police Unity Tour, in which cops bike to Washington, D.C. in honor of law enforcement officials who have died in the line of duty.

Investigator Jorge Torres, an organizer of the Thursday ride, said local officers wanted to honor McCarthy separately because, as one who did not die in the line of duty, he would not be memorialized in the Friday event, which is expected to draw some 1,800 officers to the nation’s capitol.

There’s no special significance to the Brielle destination, other than it allows for a 25-mile warm-up ride, Torres said. Six borough officers – Torres, John Camarca, James DePonte, Michael Zadlock, Paul Perez and Chief Darren McConnell – will ride, joined by ex-Chief Mark Fitzgerald.

The event will begin with a brief memorial ceremony outside police headquarters at 90 Monmouth Street at 9 a.m.

McCarthy died last September of anaplastic thyroid cancer. He was 50 years old and had served in the department for 27 years, the last three as chief. His widow and two children are scheduled to attend.

The ride is open to the public, and participation is free. Shirts will be sold for $35, with proceeds going to the McCarthy Children’s Education Fund.

For more information contact the Red Bank Police Chief’s office at (732) 530-2710.