Greeley’s bike patrol officers show the public police can laugh, be friendly
By James Redmond, Greeley Tribune, August 4, 2016
A FUN SUMMER GIG
Greeley Police Department school resource officers, with school on break for summer, staff the seasonal bike patrol.
“That is one of the more valuable tools we have, is putting our bike officers downtown during the summer months when they’re not serving as school resource officers,” said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner.
It’s an assignment a lot of the officers feel fortunate to have, said bike patrol officer Brad Luebke.
Even though it’s a lot of exercise, bike patrol officer Steve Brown said it’s something he enjoys.
“We’re not killing it for 12 hours, we’re coasting, we’re stopping, finding shade, we’ll go into different businesses and say hello,” he said.
“It’s like bringing back your 12-year-old years again,” Luebke said. “It’s a fun summer gig.”
Greeley CO -- As Officers Brad Luebke and Steve Brown made their cycling rounds through Greeley’s downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, they greeted almost everyone like friends.
“What’s up, dude,” or “Hey, how’s it going,” they shouted multiple times during their recent patrol. People waved back and told the two officers what they’d seen going on around Greeley.
“You meet a lot of unique folks,” Luebke said.
With their downtown beat, the two officers find themselves dealing with Greeley’s homeless and transient population frequently. Most of the time it isn’t to write them a ticket or citation. It’s just to talk.
“We know a lot of them. By first name, last name, where they’re living, you just get to know them,” Brown said. “It’s enforcing through relationships, instead of having citations and arrests as the reason. … It’s not just about bringing down the iron fist of authority.”
Often when police receive a complaint of people loitering or causing a problem downtown, the two officers know the people. Bike officers can ride up to the group and let them know there’s been a complaint. Most of the transients offer to move somewhere else, he said.
Riding a bicycle makes the officers more approachable, Brown said as he rested his wrists on the handlebars of his police bike for a brief moment on a weekday afternoon. “It’s easier to say hi to someone on a bike,” Luebke said.
The bike patrol program started four years ago when Greeley police department officials felt the need for a greater police presence downtown, said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner. Bicycle officers seemed like a good way to get out there, cover a lot of ground and meet a lot of people. It’s now one of the department’s more valuable programs.
Last year, the bike officers had yellow shirts and a lot of the people in town, especially the homeless population, jokingly called them ‘bumblebees,’ Luebke said. As they got ready for their morning in late July, Luebke and Brown joked about whether Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” or Queen’s “Bicycle Race,” was better suited for their mood. They ended up singing Journey as they slowed down at intersections.
A police vehicle can isolate an officer, Luebke said. The public may see it as a reason not to walk up to and talk with an officer.
But they’re still cops, and the bicycle-riding officers have also become a good criminal deterrent, Garner said.
“An advantage (the bikes) have, you’re able to sneak up on evildoers, they don’t hear you coming,” he said. “Our street people and transients particularly are conscious of the fact that we’ve got officers out on bikes. And it’s not unusual to catch them doing drugs or other illegal activities.”
The bikes can also go places police vehicles can’t go.
“They’re great for working in the parks, particularly Lincoln Park,” Garner said. “They enable us to get to places we couldn’t get to in a car. They’re a lot faster than foot patrol.”
The bikes even help in surveillance operations, Brown said. After all, bicycles can be a little less conspicuous than a patrol car or SUV.
Still, public relations are a part of the job. The two consider themselves the face of the department for downtown Greeley.
“You have the goals of enforcing the laws and everything like that, but I think one of our bigger goals downtown is more to show that cops are approachable,” Luebke said. “You can talk to us. We laugh and joke just like everybody else. We can sit and hold a conversation with everybody. We’re not just here to write tickets and take people to jail.”