Brownsville police unveil downtown bike patrol unit
by Pamela Cody, Brownsville Herald, December 14, 2016
Officer Laurie Noriega leads the bicycle unit on a demonstration ride, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, at police headquarters in Brownsville, Texas. The department officially unveiled the unit whose officers will patrol the downtown area, interact with locals, and have the ability to enforce traffic laws. (Jason Hoekema/The Brownsville Herald via AP)
Brownsville TX -- Wearing bright yellow shirts, black shorts, white helmets and fingerless riding gloves, members of the new Brownsville Bicycle Patrol Unit, posing by their Cannondale mountain bikes, were introduced Tuesday morning in front of the Brownsville Police Department.
Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez addressed the media and detailed what the new unit would be focusing on.
“What the bike patrol unit does is bring a certain service to the downtown community that has a lot of benefits. These officers are going to be more approachable, it breaks down that barrier of the police car. The downtown merchants are very excited about having them downtown on a regular basis; students, pedestrians and visitors are very happy about this new team,” Rodriguez said.
He added, “Downtown is our most congested area, we have high traffic, we have the university close by, we have the downtown merchants, we have a lot of pedestrian traffic, so it’s important to have that police presence in the downtown area.”
The chief emphasized that these officers are the same as regular patrol officers, noting “they’re fully equipped, just like any officer in a patrol car,” and mentioned other advantages, saying, “They can direct traffic, they’re going to be able to enforce traffic laws, they’ll be looking for texting and driving violations, they can do a whole lot of things.”