Donations help launch Bergenfield Police Department’s new bicycle patrol unit
APRIL 10, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY PHILIP DEVENCENTIS, ASSISTANT EDITOR, TWIN-BORO NEWS
Donations help launch new bicycle unit
The Bergenfield Police Department’s new pedal-powered patrol is bringing officers and the public closer together. The department purchased four bicycles and gear with donations it received from two businesses and a private citizen. For now, the equipment is being stored in a trailer at the borough hall.
Come summertime, however, the bikes could be used as part of officers’ regular patrol, though in most cases, they’ll be used during events, such as festivals and parades.
The bikes were used for the first time during the county’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, which marched downtown last month.
"It removes the metal from between police and the public," Police Capt. Cathy Madalone said, referring to officers’ regular mode of transport, a patrol car.
Patrolman David Tortora, one of three officers currently trained to ride the bikes, added, "It’s another form of community policing. It allows us to get out of the car and talk to people. "Tortora and Patrolman Robert Mader were trained last year at the John H. Stamler Police Academy in Scotch Plans. Patrolman James Acito was trained to ride a police bike before he joined the local force, Madalone said.
Tortora described the training as "rigorous," saying he was taught how to ride on all kinds of terrain and to jump curbs.
Madalone said Patrolmen Ahmed Alagha and Marc Rispoli will be trained to ride the bikes at the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute in Mahwah in June. She said she hopes eight officers will be trained before long.
BodyWorks Rehab donated money for the gear, while Englewood-based Atlantic Towing & Recovery Inc. and local businessman and musician George Dfouni each gave enough for two bikes and a trailer hitch.
"We’ve been in operation for two years now," said Mike Florendo, director of marketing for BodyWorks Rehab, "and this is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community."
Madalone said the bikes, which are made by Fuji Bikes, cost $1,044 each, including gear.
Each bike has a sleek, black frame with emergency lights and a siren mounted to its handlebars. The bikes also come with racks to hold bags for medical supplies. And, shock absorbers are a must for curb-jumping.
Madalone said the department has instituted a bike policy, which specifies, among other things, that officers wear helmets and refrain from riding when temperatures climb higher than 98 degrees Fahrenheit and dip lower than 35.
Local police have for the past several years participated in the 250-mile Police Unity Tour, a bicycle convoy that increases awareness of officers who died in the line of duty and raises money for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. This year’s tour departs from East Hanover on May 9.