Oceanside CA— This afternoon, Wednesday, December 20, 2017, the Oceanside Police Department will be conducting its eleventh annual Dan Bessant Memorial Run. The run is conducted in honor of slain Oceanside Police Officer Dan Bessant. Dan grew up and went to school in Oceanside. He became a cadet for the Oceanside Police Department and then a police officer. Dan worked in the Neighborhood Policing Unit and worked within the community of Oceanside to make a difference.
The public is invited to attend along with officers, professional staff, and Explorers from the department as well as employees of the Oceanside Unified School District and supporters of the Oceanside Police Department.
The memorial run will begin at 5:00 p.m. at the intersection of Gold Drive and Arthur Avenue in the back gate area of Oceanside. Runners will cover the 3.4 miles, at an approximate pace of 11 minutes per mile, back to the Oceanside Police Department at 3855 Mission Avenue. There they will observe a minute of silence for Dan.
Beginning on Gold Drive, the route will follow Vandegrift then west on North River Road, South on Douglas across Mission into the parking lot by the 7-11 to the station.
Transportation will be available to and from beginning, 4:15 pm at OPD. A transportation van will follow the runners in case runners fall out with traffic control provided by the OPD TSU.