Issue 2

Volume 1, Issue 2, Winter 1999

University of Illinois Police Set New Motor Squad in Motion

By George Sandwick, Motorcycle Officer

Left George's grandfather was the first motor officer to patrol for the Rockford PD back in the late 1930's.
Right Officer George Sandwick, the first motor officer at the U of I Department of Public Safety patrols on his 1999 Electra glide.

Early in the spring of 1999, the University of Illinois Police Department decided to start and test a police motorcycle program to enhance traffic enforcement efforts and establish better community ties with the public. A police motorcycle had not been utilized in the Champaign-Urbana area since 1972. So, after a challenging selection progress, I was lucky enough to be selected as the first officer to be the trained. Less than a week later, I was enrolled at the Northwestern Traffic Institute's Police Motorcycle Operator Training and Certification Course, riding a Harley-Davidson Police Motorcycle (Road King).

The course started off very laid back with some class work, rules, motorcycle nomenclature, some basic maintenance and how to raise a downed motorcycle. Some very basic riding and some figure eights followed this. Later that day we started some easy offset and slow cone weave riding. I was thinking that I had it made, being paid to ride someone else's Road King on a fairly easy course. Those thoughts came to a screaming halt when the distances to the offset cone weave tightened up.

The slow cone weave that allowed us to turn B-52 patterns around was also changed into an entirely different animal when a second cone was added. The second cone created small corridors that eliminated the large turning radius we were enjoying. Motorcycles started dropping... a lot. This easy course was quickly transforming into something of a nightmare, with more hardship on the way. The toughest cone pattern for me was the 360 "keyhole" cone pattern. Instructors demonstrated that it was not possible to manage the keyhole riding "upright" with the bars fully locked. To get through the keyhole we really had to lean the motorcycle over, tightening the turn radius. We slowly learned that in order to successfully negotiate the cone patterns we had to "dance" with the motorcycles, leaning them more than we ever had to in our own individual riding experiences.

After the course ended and our departmental motorcycle, a dark blue 1999 fuel i njected "POLICE" Electra Glide, was delivered and set up, I started driving through our patrol areas and was amazed at how different our patrol area was on the motorcycle as compared to in a squad car. I could observe things from a higher perspective without the glass to hamper my vision or hearing. But what really surprised me was the response from the public.

I've noticed that the public likes the police motorcycle. The bike really has a positive community policing image that I had not seen before. For the first three years as a police officer I had worked the third shift. Somewhere over that time period I had unintentionally started using the squad car as a barrier which limited my chances to freely communicate with the public. Now, at stop signs or lights, I regularly find myself speaking to other drivers next to me or saying hello to pedestrians as I pass by them. People flag me down to talk about the motorcycle and later explain their concerns about other issues like traffic safety or crime in general. I have been approached during traffic stops by people who ask about the motorcycle and the departments motorcycle program. Some even want to take pictures!

On patrol, I primarily use the motorcycle as a traffic tool. Usually I run traffic in the areas where a squad car cannot set up at, providing traffic enforcement where there was none. Sometimes I simply park in the open and run radar. Drivers are so used to searching for squad cars as they speed that they just don't notice the motorcycle. In most cases the speeding vehicle brakes well after passing my location. One driver I stopped for driving 79 mph in a 45 mph zone said the following; "Where did you come from?…I didn't know there where any motorcycle cops down here… Hey, that's a real nice motorcycle…I'm not getting a ticket, am I?"

I've also used the motorcycle in the same manner as our bicycle patrols do and patrol the areas where we cannot drive our squad cars. Our patrol area has also seen an increase of construction, which has added to traffic congestion. The motorcycle can easily negotiate the worst traffic congestion and respond to calls quicker than our squad cars. Recently there was a call at a Champaign restaurant during the lunch hour. The call was regarding a suspicious person with an object in his hand that appeared to be a hand grenade. Champaign PD requested assistance. I was finishing up a traffic stop in neighboring Urbana, nine blocks away and started heading that direction. The streets were already backed up by construction and lunchtime traffic so I took an "alternate route." My "alternate route" included sidewalks, bike paths, cutting across a parking lot and riding the wrong way on a one-way street. Most of the riding was in first gear and felt very slow but by not being hung up by traffic, I was parked and speaking to the reporting party before the second officer arrived. The "grenade" turned out to be a "stress ball" but I learned how quickly I could respond to an incident for future response.

After a slow start, I think our motorcycle program is right on track. It has shown itself to be very well received by the public, and has shown its versatility by conducting traffic and patrolling where squad cars cannot. I'm really happy to be part of this experiment and hope to see it grow during the next few years from one motorcycle to between three and five.
Growth in North Little Rock Prompts Reinstatement of Much-Needed Motor Squad; Officers and Citizens Welcome Change

By D. Barriere and S. Romine, Motorcycle Officers
Dear Squad-Fitters:

After twenty-five years, the City of North Little Rock (Arkansas) has reinstated a police motorcycle unit and is enjoying great success with it. Two 1999 Harley-Davidson Road King Police motorcycles hit the streets in June and have made quite an impact in our city. North Little Rock, located in central Arkansas and with a population of approximately 70,000, had four Harleys until 1974. This year, our city has seen the opening of a new arena with a capacity of 18,000 and a state-of-the-art hospital complex - dramatically increasing traffic flow and the need for a traffic unit.

The bikes are ridden daily by Officer Dirk Barriere and Officer Scott Romine, both having extensive riding experience. During the entire month of June, both Officers patrolled the streets alongside Little Rock Motor Officers, as a type of field training program. The Little Rock PD has maintained a motor squad for years, and primarily handles traffic enforcement as well as being tasked with performing escorts for President Clinton, when in the state. Officers from our unit first attended a civilian motorcycle school and recently completed a 40-hour Police Operators course taught by Little Rock PD Motorcycle Training Instructor Don Williams.

Everybody's seen the signs marked "speed checked by radar"; well, in North Little Rock they are! In the month of July (the first month that we were fully operational), Barriere and Romine's combined effort resulted in over 650 citations issued. Numerous requests for special appearances poured in as citizens took notice of the reinstated motor unit and even though we are scheduled for weekends off, we hardly ever see them. We also understand that the total number of bikes will be brought to four sometime around the first of the year. Needless to say, we love Squad-Fitters and its web page and definitely plan on using you in the future when outfitting future bikes.

Arkansas tends to have humid summers and mild winters, and we found a few items that really work for us. Neoprene gloves with sharkskin-type grips (hunting type), insulated half-gallon water jugs to keep in the saddlebags, Gore-tex pant liners to block the winter wind, and black quilted snow ski pants. We also combined a J & M pre-amplified headset with a Harley-Davidson CB push-to-talk switch to give us hands free communication. We also designed some reflective stop signs, which work perfectly on your stationary radar sets. The cars actually stop in front of you and pull to the curb instead of two blocks down the street causing you to run a 5K for one speeding ticket. We are very interested in the upcoming WWAMO and who knows- maybe our Arena could be used for an exhibition one day. Stay Safe!!!

As a member of the Lubbock, Texas Police Department Motorcycle Unit I just wanted to say how much we enjoy your catalogs. Several of our officers have ordered items from the catalogs and we like to keep up to date on the latest technology offered by Squad-Fitters for Police motorcycles and their officers.

I am attaching a picture of myself and Officer Adam Gutierrez as we worked the local 4th of July celebration parade on our 1999 Harley Davidson Police Road Kings. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,
Officer Rodney Kendricks