General Cycling Discussion - Bike Cops

I drove past a couple of bicycle cops this weekend. They were riding next to each other taking up a whole lane with a couple of cars crawling slowly behind them. They appeared to be taking their sweet time too. Don't know why, but when I saw that I thought aaaaaaaw heeeeell yeeeeah lol Waved at them like mad too. The looked at me funny. :beer:

They do that all the time on Broadway here in Nashville.

One of the disappointments in life I've had to learn to accept is that bike cops (here in Philadelphia, anyway) are not bicyclists, have no interest in cycling, and do not see their role as having anything to do with cycling. Bikes, to them, are just a faster way to "walk" their beats.

They pay absolutely no attention to traffic laws (less even than drivers of squad cars do) and they pay no attention to stupid/illegal/dangerous activity by cyclists unless there's a crime being committed or they actually collide with somone.

They ignore traffic signals, they ride on congested sidewalks, they go the wrong way on one-way streets. It's just as well there aren't too many of them.

Grr.

RichC

That, and they all get nice Klein HT's besides :D

hmmmmm..come to think of it, that was the first time I'd seen any on the street. I've only ever seen them in sort of 'crowded' areas like a festival or Overton Square here in Memphis. These guys appeared to be following the rules even! Maybe taking 'right of way' a little too much, but there was another lane on this slow uncrowded street for cars to pass. It was as if they were saying 'IN YOUR FACE I BELONG HERE TOO! Complain and I'll arrest ya!' OH OH!! Maybe if i wear a bright yellow shirt and black shorts like theirs, cars will keep quiet when I ride!! Oh, my bored-at-work little mind is turning...

Originally posted by Natophelia
...I thought aaaaaaaw heeeeell yeeeeah lol Waved at them like mad too. The looked at me funny. :beer:
That's been my experience, too. I'll wave and they'll usually ignore me completely.

I have talked to some before that consider it more healthy or a good way to get around, but I think most of them would rather be inside a car.

Something else I just realized. Our public safety department on campus has two or three guys who patrol on bikes, but they make them wear the same uncomfortable looking uniforms and shoes. Seems they could be much more effective if they had cycling specific uniform clothing (but not lycra, oh no, not for these big guys). For crying out loud, it was 90 degrees the other day with probably 70% humidity and they are wearing midnight blue uniforms.

What happened to bikecop a forum member? http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=2890 It would be interesting to hear what he has to say on this.

We have bike cops in Germantown also, but I haven't seen them in a while. They never seemed to be doing anything.

We have bike cops in Trollsville. I just love a man in uniform. :love: :love: :love:

The Trollsville Bicycle Club had a fund raiser and helped to buy the police a bicycle.

Every once in a while, I stop at the LBS and buy some tubes. Then I drop by the station and donate them to the bicycle officers. I think it helps to build good will.

And maybe, it will help me to not get tickets for riding nekkid! :D

bikecop is probably busy nowadays, his last post was last July of 2002,
I don't have problems with police officer on Bikes, out here T.O. thy look friendly and very respectful

It's been my experience that most people who want to be cops have no business being one. And once they get behind that badge, they're above the law. I gaurantee you that if you did half the stuff on your bike that they do on theirs, they'd harass you over it. I'd have more respect for law enforcement if they had more respect and discernment for their own "authority."

Originally posted by crucifixion12
It's been my experience that most people who want to be cops have no business being one. And once they get behind that badge, they're above the law. I gaurantee you that if you did half the stuff on your bike that they do on theirs, they'd harass you over it. I'd have more respect for law enforcement if they had more respect and discernment for their own "authority."

Sounds like you've had some bad experiences with the police.

Personally, I think that the presence of bicycle officers is good for the cycling community in general. They demonstrate one more "legitimate" use of bicycles and may make people think twice about harrassing cyclists.

http://mitglied.lycos.de/rick1974/hpbimg/Pacific%20Blue.jpg

bike cops... :) you guys remember this show...pacific blue...

Originally posted by A.troll
And maybe, it will help me to not get tickets for riding nekkid! :D

You kill me sometimes, Troll!!!! :D

We have a number of bike cops: Sac PD and the CHP officers who patrol around Capitol Park. For the most part they seem to be friendly and engaged with the people on their beat. Might be that they have more patience because they're used to the daily demonstrations, rallies, and protests.

One thing I've noticed is that they ride really heavy FS mountain bikes with big panniers and knobby tires. They look like they're ready for a backcountry tour rather than just cruising the pathways of Capitol Park. Must be the same mindset that leads them to buy those gigantic Crown Victorias....

Bike cops here on the peninsula ride Trek Police bikes. I'm not sure how heavy they are, but looking at the pictures on the Trek website, they look like either 6000 or 4000 series versions. In any case, they're HT and they look really sweet coz they got the black matte finish, and not the glossy paint that retail Trek bikes have.

Would be nice if there were more cops on the bicycles, because MOST of them are driving HUGE gas guzzlers - crown victorias, and they never shut the engine off, because WE (tax payers) pay the bill.
Of course they need to have a big, heavy strong car, but if some of them cared for the inveronment, they could have behave a little differently.

Two days ago, saw how 3 police cars we standing around a bicyclist, BMX style, that was riding on campus sidewalks, which is prohibited by the signs...

They locked his hands in hand cuffs, arrested him and drove away in the back of police car. The bikes were carried away by some security truck.
I don't think this is all that necessary...

Bike cups are good, they don't pollute as much... :)

If I would be a cop in the future, I think I'll prefer being a cop on a hardtail bike. I guess there's more fun in the job that way, being able to mix around with the residents, having a few words with them and stuff. Though I do see bikes at the police stations, I don't see any of the cops here riding them. They are usually patroling in their cars, which I guess is best for them since they now do have computers in the patrol cars that should have a gps system that they can use to track down those people in probation and rush to scene of crimes asap. Hopefully they will have such systems installed on the bike, and if I can't find a job, I'll be a cop on bike!

Originally posted by Rich Clark
One of the disappointments in life I've had to learn to accept is that bike cops (here in Philadelphia, anyway) are not bicyclists, have no interest in cycling, and do not see their role as having anything to do with cycling. Bikes, to them, are just a faster way to "walk" their beats.

I've noticed that, too. I think for them a bicycle is just a practicality that they can use in congested inner-city areas to get around faster. We've had cops on bikes for a few years around here, but it doesn't appear to have changed the situation for cyclists one bit.

Originally posted by caloso

One thing I've noticed is that they ride really heavy FS mountain bikes with big panniers and knobby tires.

The bike shop I often frequent has some Police-configured ho-hum hardtails on display since they sell to the local law enforcement folks. I've also seen them configure Fisher Sugar-1s for police duty... decked out with nice light kits and everything. Now those were pretty sweet.

"Its got cop shocks, cop tyres, cop brakes, cop engine..."

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin
Two days ago, saw how 3 police cars we standing around a bicyclist, BMX style, that was riding on campus sidewalks, which is prohibited by the signs...

They locked his hands in hand cuffs, arrested him and drove away in the back of police car. The bikes were carried away by some security truck.
I don't think this is all that necessary...

You think they might have been arresting him for something else than riding on the sidewalk? Maybe he just rapped a girl, or robbed a bank, or murdered someone. Maybe, just maybe, the cops WERE DOING THEIR JOBS! We (well, they; but I'll be able to use we in 4 to 5 years) do a stress filled, hard working job, where they (we) get shot at, stabbed, yelled at, stuff thrown at us, to serve and protect our cities or towns, and most people see us as a nuisance. I'm sorry to go off like this, but after that post I couldn't hold it in.

Back to the bike cop subject. Being a Sgt-Cadet at my city's police station I know almost every officer by their first name. We do have a bike patrol, but since we got the horses (cops on horses is a stupid idea) the bikes aren't used a ton. Whenever someone does a bike patrol shift, I'm usually out there with them, most say I can give them better training on the bike than the classes they have to take to be a bike cop did. So now I've got 3 or 4 cops doing urban assault with me. And let me tell you, the best way to get away with doing urban is doing it with a cop.

Funny story, there is this park where there is some awesome stuff to fool around on, but this old guy chases us away within 10 mins. So I'm out with one of the officers and he asked about how he can jump off stairs better, "I've got the perfect place to practice," I say, take him to the park. I hit a set a of stairs and soon enough out comes the old guy, "I thought I told you the next time I see you I would call the cops!" The officer turned around, "...Exuse me..." I almost fell over laughing, the guys mouth dropped so low you could have drove a MACK truck thought it. I never had an issue with him again.

-Middi-zon

Hey Caloso, Sac county has Sheriff's officers patroling on bikes on the American River Bike trail. I've seen them on their FS Mountain bikes down there a couple of times. I don't think any real cyclist would have much of a problem out running them.

Originally posted by Middi-zon
You think they might have been arresting him for something else than riding on the sidewalk? Maybe he just rapped a girl, or robbed a bank, or murdered someone. Maybe, just maybe
-Middi-zon

May be is a good phrase. But when I post, I make sure this is not a maybe.
Many times I witnessed campus patrol chasing "12 year old kids" for riding on campus territory".

People who work in law inforcment agencies, feel some power over the rest of the people, and this feel often lets them behave themselves in unappropriate way, using as excuse the fact that they risk a life other times. It's their choice, they chose to become cops, no one pushed them. This means that they HAVE TO BE POLITE and respectful to EVERYBODY. As EVERYBODY contributes to them receivng their paychecks...

Originally posted by Middi-zon
Being a Sgt-Cadet at my city's police station I know almost every officer by their first name.

How old are you?

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin
May be is a good phrase. But when I post, I make sure this is not a maybe.
Many times I witnessed campus patrol chasing "12 year old kids" for riding on campus territory".

People who work in law inforcment agencies, feel some power over the rest of the people, and this feel often lets them behave themselves in unappropriate way, using as excuse the fact that they risk a life other times. It's their choice, they chose to become cops, no one pushed them. This means that they HAVE TO BE POLITE and respectful to EVERYBODY. As EVERYBODY contributes to them receivng their paychecks...

I'm sure that if you say that to a cop, he/she will come back and say, not everyone is "polite" to us...

gee ... I wonder why.

I've got a problem with cops picking on a certain brand of cars and a certain race of people that drive those cars ....

There is no doubt about it. From my own experience.
I drove black toyota celica, a sport looking car, and notice - BLACK...
they just loved to stop me, sort of white (good) police cruiser, caught a black bad guy...
In one year of owning that car, I was pulled over more than 30 times.
Now that I drive white (family) sedan, I have not been pulled over even once - 6 months of driving.

Originally posted by iamlucky13
Something else I just realized. Our public safety department on campus has two or three guys who patrol on bikes, but they make them wear the same uncomfortable looking uniforms and shoes. Seems they could be much more effective if they had cycling specific uniform clothing (but not lycra, oh no, not for these big guys). For crying out loud, it was 90 degrees the other day with probably 70% humidity and they are wearing midnight blue uniforms.
You got that right! You couldn't pay me enough to ride around in that hot, heavy clothing. That's probably why they ride so slowly, or simply sit in the shade.

:crash:

Originally posted by khuon
"Its got cop shocks, cop tyres, cop brakes, cop engine..."

Haha...my favorite movie, a true classic.

Anyway, I think cops in general deserve more respect than they're often given. While, yeah, there are always going to be a few that "abuse" their power, which I'm by no means justifying, I think they do deserve a bit of gratitude. It's easy to criticise (sp?) them now, but when somebody needs help, you might be singin' a different tune.

"The use of uneccassary violence in the apprehention of the Blue's Brothers...has been approved"

cops on horses is a stupid idea

they use them back home (charleston, sc) downtown, they do alot of good.

but back to bikes cops.
there are a few from time to time downtown montgomery, but not very often. i see them on the hitch rack of the crusiers, but never being used.

later

jatkins679 - I'm 18.

Inoplanetyanin - I'm not going to get into it with you, we see things from a different point of view and disagree about the the role of police.

-Middi-zon

Originally posted by Middi-zon
jatkins679 - I'm 18.

Inoplanetyanin - I'm not going to get into it with you, we see things from a different point of view and disagree about the the role of police.

-Middi-zon

So you're not even old enough to be a cop, but you talk like you know it all about law enforcement because you're a 'sgt-cadet'. OK, whatever.

I used to be a firefighter/EMT in a large Midwestern city and we had cadets like you: talk like they know what it was all about, lecture others (usually much older than them) about how these other people didn't know jack about 'what it's really like', thought they were buddy-buddy with the FFs and 'one of the guys'.

We used to laugh at cadets like you because you actually don't know a thing about what it's really like in public safety, which is fine. But talking like you do and like you're one of them when you're not isn't. It just makes you pathetic.

Hopefully you won't be someone that is allowed to be a cop because you obviously won't be willing to admit you don't know everything about it and that's a dangerous individual to be a cop.

Originally posted by jatkins679
So you're not even old enough to be a cop, but you talk like you know it all about law enforcement because you're a 'sgt-cadet'. OK, whatever.

I used to be a firefighter/EMT in a large Midwestern city and we had cadets like you: talk like they know what it was all about, lecture others (usually much older than them) about how these other people didn't know jack about 'what it's really like', thought they were buddy-buddy with the FFs and 'one of the guys'.

We used to laugh at cadets like you because you actually don't know a thing about what it's really like in public safety, which is fine. But talking like you do and like you're one of them when you're not isn't. It just makes you pathetic.

Hopefully you won't be someone that is allowed to be a cop because you obviously won't be willing to admit you don't know everything about it and that's a dangerous individual to be a cop.

Werd. http://www.clubcivic.com/board/images/smiles/slap.gif

Originally posted by Middi-zon

(cops on horses is a stupid idea)



Totally disagree with this statement. They're up higher so they can see and be seen more easily. They can go on the street or on the grass. Kids love horses and want to pet them so it gives the horsecops a good "in" with the public. The only problem is that horses aren't exactly non-emission vehicles. ;)

And a correction: The Capitol Park CHiPs ride hardtail Treks, not FS. They're still overloaded with stuff, though.

Joliet Jake: "What happened to the Caddy?"
Elwood: "I traded it for a microphone..."

Originally posted by jatkins679
So you're not even old enough to be a cop, but you talk like you know it all about law enforcement because you're a 'sgt-cadet'. OK, whatever.

I used to be a firefighter/EMT in a large Midwestern city and we had cadets like you: talk like they know what it was all about, lecture others (usually much older than them) about how these other people didn't know jack about 'what it's really like', thought they were buddy-buddy with the FFs and 'one of the guys'.

We used to laugh at cadets like you because you actually don't know a thing about what it's really like in public safety, which is fine. But talking like you do and like you're one of them when you're not isn't. It just makes you pathetic.

Hopefully you won't be someone that is allowed to be a cop because you obviously won't be willing to admit you don't know everything about it and that's a dangerous individual to be a cop.

First, I'd like to start by expressing my extreme disdain for you calling my character into question when you have never met me and after only reading one of my posts. In lameman's terms, I think your an ass.

Also, let me assure you, I don't, nor think otherwise, know all there is to know about law enforcement. I just came back from my first cadet competition last weekend, and there were many situations that I was put in that I had no idea how to deal with, I fell back on my instincts and training and made sure the cadets that I was in command of were safe. My team and I made some mistakes, made an illegal arrest, failed to stop a car jacking, but I kept my "officers" safe and alive.

Now I'd like to address your comment about thinking I'm "one of the guys." Obviously the officers in the department don't treat me as a fellow sworn officer, but it's damn close. I've been invited to three weddings, many other "police only" social gatherings, and I'm a part of the department's hockey team, I'm their goalie. The team plays in a late night mens league and after the game they all go out for last call together, after my second game I was asked to join them and they'll buy me a coke. If that's not "one of the guys," what is?

Lastly, I have had job offers from several local agencies, the state police, and the DEA for after I graduate college, so I'm not a "poser," I worked with many and can definitely tell you I'm not one of them.

-Middi-zon

P.S. - I apologize to the moderators, I know that this kind of posting is frowned upon, but I had to defend my character.

Originally posted by Middi-zon

Inoplanetyanin - I'm not going to get into it with you, we see things from a different point of view and disagree about the the role of police.

-Middi-zon

Interesting post.
The actually interesting part is that I don't know what my view about police is, or I haven't found set of phrases to express it and you already know that it is different from yours... :)

If a person is morally good, with universally great values, positive attitude towards life and people, by working in police he CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin
Interesting post.
The actually interesting part is that I don't know what my view about police is, or I haven't found set of phrases to express it and you already know that it is different from yours... :)

If a person is morally good, with universally great values, positive attitude towards life and people, by working in police he CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Thank you, I'm sorry if I jumped the gun on you in your previous post, when I wrote the post it was just after I gave a sophomore a ride home after our lacrosse practice. He asked what I'd be doing next year and I told him that I was going to the Rochester Inst. of Tech. and majoring in criminal justice, he then made fun of cops for the next 20 mins, in my car as I'm going out of my way to bring him home. As you may have guessed I was pissed.

-Middi-zon

No problem... Good luck with your studyings.

Evansville, IN police get bikes and training...a new pilot program here...maybe the next time I get hit by a car the officer will pay more attention to me on the bike, since the officer may also be on a bike...

More info, if interested, about the local dudes and their training:
http://www.myinky.com/ecp/news/article/0,1626,ECP_734_1996466,00.html

They let 18 year old people be cops here. Way too young if you ask me. Im not slamming 18 yr olds, just saying there's still a lot to learn about life, and then there's the whole power trip factor for young people who become cops.

I have yet to see a cop on a bike in my town. It seems that there are quite a few cruisers with a hitch mount rack though.

Hi,
This is my first post here, and after reading this thread, I thought it was a good place to start.

First, I am not a cop, but I ride with them in charity events (as police support) and, once a year, on a long cross country ride for the LLSA. The team I ride with is an outstanding group of officers, so I'll admit to being biased by my interaction with them. Most of them spend a great deal of time volunteering themselves for charity events and fundraising for the team. Even beyond that, they are one of the nicest groups of men and women I have ever met.

Base on this interaction, and based my experiences with having a lot of family members in law enforcement, I'll offer the following response to some opinions I read in this thread:

1)Bicycle Cops aren't good cyclists.
Okay, some of that is true SOMETIMES, but it doesn't work as a generalization. It's sort of like saying "cops are a__holes". Well, some are, but MOST are not. On my team are a couple of "real" bike cops, plus a lot of bike patrol officers ride with me on police support (like on the Houston to Austin MS150).

Like some of you, I am surprised sometimes that a few of these officers aren't very fit for long-distance cycling. However, in their defense, these are guys that most likely don't ride their bikes much, even at work, but simply work with bike patrol in another capacity. However, even these "slower" guys are amazingly fit. They have to take periodic PT exams and go to "bike school". Bike school, btw, is pretty tough.

They simply don't have the time for training for long distances. Some of them don't even have a good road bike, so they ride MTB's with knobbies, even on Century benefit rides. Having done that once myself on a dare, I can tell you it ain't easy to go fast the whole way. As an aside: Sometimes, when you see a officer riding really slow on a benefit, they could be riding "turtle"---simply riding very slow to time their crossing with the closing of the course. If the turtle passes a rider then that ride should sag up because "they ain't gonna make it". I rode turtle on the second day of a 212 mile 2 day ride. Let me tell ya, riding turtle on that ride was the toughest ride I've done. I started an hour late and stayed late at every stop. Still, ten hours on the road, riding under pace, was tough.

2) Bike Cops dont' follow the rules of the road.
Uh, I've never witnessed that (except in the case of a cop chasing down a guy on a benefit ride. The cop ran a red light and ran down a jerk who was riding on the wrong side of the street during a benefit tour. The guy, btw, was riding a nice road bike. The cop? A Cannondale MTB. The cop caught him--no problem.

Locally, Bike Patrol does ride in some areas off-limits to regular cyclists. Here, that includes the airport and airport terminals and some parks. However, even there, they are supposed to operate within guidelines. My guess is that they sometimes ride on sidewalks and in places they shouldn't, but that isn't common. Downtown, I wouldn't be surprised to see a cop on a sidewalk, especially if the streets are jammed and he is on a call, but I can say I've ridden with patrol downtown and we stopped at all the lights and stayed on the street full-time.

3)Bike Cops don't do much for cycling in general. This one is probably right, but only because Bike Patrol officers aren't that visible in a lot of cities. Here, they patrol on bike paths, often at night when they are closed to the public, or in the Ship Channel area, which is heavily industrialized, or in other areas like parks and ballfields, where they aren't that visible to the general public. I think the view is that it would be impractical for them to patrol in areas where patrol cars would be more effective.

4)Horses. Okay, this struck a nerve (Well, I AM from Texas). Horses are perfect for crowd control. I lived in New Orleans for ten years and I earn a great deal of respect for how a good cop on a good horse can control a crowd. In these circumstances, a cop on a bike or on foot would be ineffective.

I could post more on all this, but you guys would just get bored....

later!

Originally posted by Rockhound
3)Bike Cops don't do much for cycling in general.

Well, perhaps not much that's immediately visible. However, I believe that they are doing something for cycling by showing the bicycle as a useful form of transport that can actually be used in the real world. Let me tell you, this provides a much greater benefit to cycling than the practices of many other cycling "advocates".

Baltimore city has bicycle cops and they are very useful. Mountain bikes can go where the cars, motorcycles, and horses can't and they have been very effective chasing down suspects.

They all ride Giant Iguana's with a white paint job.

OT ...

http://11alive.com/news/news_article.asp?storyid=32200

http://mindscraps.com/s/otn/laughing/lol2.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/otn/laughing/lol2.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/otn/laughing/lol2.gifhttp://mindscraps.com/s/otn/laughing/lol2.gif

Hey Rockhound, good to see you here. I've only been here a very short time myself. Also wanted to compliment you on your post. I just read through this thread tonight and also had some concerns about some of the comments about the police.

The only thing I might add at this time is that some places allow bikes on the sidewalk. When I first thought about getting a bike where I live now, I made some posts in another forum and everyone was posting things back like, "There is a reason they call it a sideWALK". Well, when I found the state's rules, turns out that many places you can ride on the sidewalk.

That may not apply to where posters here are from - and I would expect local bike riders to know - but it is okay some places.

Bob (84 flatless miles and counting)

Originally posted by TheRCF
Well, when I found the state's rules, turns out that many places you can ride on the sidewalk.

That may not apply to where posters here are from - and I would expect local bike riders to know - but it is okay some places.

It's legal here too (Queensland is the only Australian state where this is the case for anyone over the age of 12). It doesn't automatically mean it's a particularly safe or sensible thing to do.

It's legal to smoke, too.

Well, I am not a Bike Cop but I am a Bike Medic and I work with a lot of Bike Officers here in Austin and a fair number of them are cycling advocates as well. Most are Mountain Bike Madmen and you will see them off duty bombing the green belt. Bike Medics and Police are very much a positive community thing here..sorry some of you have had a bad experience....

I work for a sheriff's office. Our department has 4 deputies that patrol their areas on bikes when weather conditions are right. I live in Colorado. These deputies go through weeks of training on the bike. And these deputies enjoy their job on the bike. I have talked to each of them several times and they have actually encouraged me to become a Reserve deputy to join them on bike patrol. These deputies enjoy bike patrol because they say it makes them more approachable by the kids. It also gives them the ability to go to areas their cars can't. These bike deputies have even started a program for under priveleged kids handing out bike helmets and teaching bike safety. They have created a positive environment in their areas.