Heightened police presence on bikes during Riverfest
By Sam Shilts, WXOW, June 27, 2017
La Crosse, WI (WXOW) -
With Riverfest and the holiday coming up, La Crosse police will be increasing their presence on bike patrol.
During crowded events, the bikes allow police to be more mobile than they could on foot or in a squad car, making it easier to respond to any incident efficiently. Outside of large events, police say the bike patrols have made officers more approachable in community policing efforts.
"We do see extra patrols obviously for big events like Oktoberfest [and] Riverfest," said Officer Kurt Weaver "But our neighborhood resource officers use these a lot in just their day to day patrol because it's their goal [and] their mission to get out and meet people. When your on a bicycle, it's easier to do that than when you're sitting in a car."
Police began its bike patrol seven years ago. 28 members of the police are trained to be part of those patrols.