“It’s so cool;” son of fallen Stanislaus sheriff’s deputy surprised with motor bike
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Chase Garner thought he was just going to look at new riding boots Saturday afternoon. Instead the 12-year-old son of a late Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy was surprised with a new motorized dirt bike that people had pitched in to buy for him.
Local law enforcement officers, area businesses and community members banded together to raise money to give the son of Deputy Jason Garner a new Kawasaki off-road motorcycle. Garner and his passenger, Community Service Officer Raschel Johnson, were killed while on duty in May 2017 when the patrol vehicle he was driving crashed along a turn on Crows Landing Road.
The fundraiser started simply in late August when San Joaquin County sheriff’s Deputy Cody Grant noticed Chase’s mother, Garner’s ex-wife Sarah Stockton, who lives in Lodi, had posted on Facebook about his love of riding motorcycles. But Grant said the dirt bike Chase was riding was way too small for him, and better suited for someone half his age.
He reached out to Stockton to ask about the bike. She told him it was a hand-me-down, but because of its small size, Chase would get made fun of by the neighbor kids while riding it. Still, he loved dirt biking and she could not afford a new, bigger one.
“That hit my heart because that’s not right,” Grant said. “This kid has been through enough. This kid deserves the world right now.”
Grant’s uncle was a Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office deputy killed in the line of duty, and he said he has a strong connection with the families of fallen law enforcement officers.
So he started a Gofundme page to raise money for an appropriately sized dirt bike for Chase. He shared it with area law enforcement officers he knew, including his friend and Department of Corrections Officer Joey Castiglione. Before joining the force, Castiglione worked at Honda Kawasaki KTM of Modesto, so he mentioned the fundraiser to the owner.
Honda Kawasaki KTM owner Matt Borup got on board immediately, and posted about the fundraiser on the store’s Instagram page. Then Design Lab car custom vinyl designer Nick Porter of Oakdale saw a post about the fundraiser and reached out as well, offering to wrap the bike in custom stickers memorializing the fallen deputy.
“I know what two wheels does. For me and many other people, two wheels is an escape for life,” Porter said. “If things go bad, you’re stressing out and got stuff going on, to be able to get on a dirt bike and let all that go away. With (him) being 12 years old and being so young, I had to jump on it.”
Together the men raised some $2,300, and Borup’s shop matched that with $2,400 to cover the other half of the bike’s cost. And Borup also threw in a new set of riding gear: helmet, boots, gloves, the works.
“(Law enforcement) sacrifices for what they want to do. Officer Jason Garner had the biggest sacrifice of them all,” Borup said. “Helping out is one of those things we like to do here. It’s such a small thing and if we can help at all, that’s what we like to do — especially this kid, he’s a good kid.”
On Saturday, the men all convened, along with about a dozen friends, family and some of Garner’s fellow deputies, to surprise Chase at the Honda Kawasaki KTM store on Carpenter Road.
When Chase, his mother and his 17-year-old sister, Ashley, entered the shop, they looked at some other bikes first. Then Borup offered to let Chase unveil what he told him was the the shop’s first display model of the brand new 2020 Kawasaki KLX 140G, which was covered by a tarp.
But when Chase pulled off the cloth, he saw the stickers memorializing his father, as well as other custom details that indicated the bike was made just for him.
Open-mouthed, the seventh-grader hopped on and said, “This is crazy. Thank you. It’s so cool.”
The shiny green-and-white bike is emblazoned with the number “117,” Garner’s badge number. Other stickers read “In Loving Memory Jason Garner,” and include his end-of-watch date and the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Department logo.
Chase’s mother said the support from the community and law enforcement has been overwhelming and much appreciated.
“I have no words. It was so thoughtful and unbelievable. It was truly unexpected,” she said. “I was really surprised and I feel really grateful and blessed that he has so much support.”
Garner’s parents and two brothers also were at the shop to witness the surprise. His father, Dave Garner, was grateful for the support the community has shown since his son’s death.
“One thing I’ve noticed about Modesto, they honor their officers,” he said. “They always come out and are very respectful and appreciative. It’s almost overwhelming at times.”
Chase was all smiles and thank-yous after receiving the bike and gear. And then it was loaded onto one of his uncle’s trucks to be driven back to Lodi to no doubt show off to those neighbor kids. Plus, if he happens to crash it at some point and his stickers get scratched up, Porter promised he will replace them for life.
“It means a lot. I had no clue this was happening. I really wanted a new bike,” Chase said. “It’s unbelievable, I can’t believe it. No words for it. It’s crazy.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 1:45 PM.
