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Howard police Pathway Patrol Section keep Columbia trails safe

Pfc. Russell Burris of the Howard County Police Department's Pathway Patrol Section rides down stairs during walkway patrols Thursday afternoon in Columbia. (Staff photo by Andrew Michaels)

By Andrew Michaels, Howard County Times, August 30, 2015

Overlooking Columbia's Lake Kittamaqundi, Merrill Lynch employee Mary Salafia, of Westminster, decided to have her lunch outside by the lakefront fountain Thursday, enjoying the warm breeze and sunny skies. Out of the corner of her eye, Salafia saw Howard County Police Department Pfc. Russell Burris and flagged him down on his bicycle to tell him about a "suspicious" person she saw just minutes before.

"I actually got a hinky feeling from somebody who walked by and he was making strange hand gestures and seemed to be very focused on the other side of the lake," Salafia said. "I'm a very trusting person, but that looked very odd to me. Since, [Burris] was right by me, I figured I'd mention it in case he wanted to check it out."

As a part of the department's new Pathway Patrol Section, Burris is one of seven officers on mountain bikes and electric motorcycles, patrolling bike paths and walking trails throughout the county to ensure citizen safety. After launching on Aug. 10, the officers are parking their patrol cars and grabbing their bikes as they immerse themselves in the community to deter crime, address quality-of-life issues and meet one-on-one with citizens.

"Cycling is a big part of my life, so to be able to combine both what I love to do outside of work with what I do at work is pretty exciting," Burris said.

Pathway Patrol Section Deputy Chief of Operations Major Ellsworth Jones said discussions to expand pathway patrols began over a year ago. While police were working to cover walkways and trails as much as possible, Jones said their duties also included car patrols.

"A patrol officer may be a bike officer, but their primary duties were responding to calls for service in patrol and then, when they had the ability to, they would ride their bikes on the pathways and through the parks," Jones said. "Obviously, if time allowed, it was a great opportunity for them to get out and meet the public, but it was just harder to do on a regular basis when you're also responsible for handling the burglary call or the accident call."

Jones said the section is a part of the department's Community Outreach Division, where officers attend events and educate the public on preventive crime measures. But, before officers hit the bikes, Burris said they completed International Police Mountain Bike Association certification training, focusing on maneuverability.

"The most important things that bike officers need to be skilled at are slow-speed maneuverability; the ability to get in and around people, traffic, buildings or whatever it might be, safely and effectively," Burris said. "It's not something that the casual bike rider is used to."

As a trainer, Burris said officers learn to maneuver through several cone courses, including a 9-foot-by-9-foot box, where they must ride in three complete circles without putting their feet on the ground or stopping. Bike officers must also learn to ride up and down stairs. Once training is completed, officers receive their certification.

"Everybody that's in this unit already had [the certification]," Burris said.

Sgt. Eric Kruhm, another bike officer, said officer pathway patrols overlap between day and evening shifts, typically from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., to cover as much ground as possible. As officers learn of the nearby crime trends, he said, patrol times might vary.

"It depends on complaints [and] the problems on the paths," Kruhm said. "A lot of it is going to be generated by the outreach with the community and them giving us information and letting us know what issues we can work on or what needs to be taken care of."

While officers have had a few trespassing arrests, Kruhm said more written citations have been completed relating to quality-of-life issues.

"I think most people don't really need contact with the police as far as crime is concerned," he said. "Most people don't have crimes committed against them, especially if you live in Howard County; it's a low-crime county. But, what they do run into is somebody drinking in public, somebody loitering, or somebody smoking marijuana on the path."

With easy bike or motorcycle access, Pfc. Andrew Schlossnagle said officers handle the issue right away without wasting time parking a patrol car and then preparing their bikes.  "If we're on the paths, we can get there very quickly," Schlossnagle said. "Often times, we'll have come on it even before it's reported. We have people flagging us down."

Sometimes, Schlossnagle said, people will wave him down not for an issue, but just to talk and learn more about the section's two Zero electric motorcycles. Although its appearance is similar to a gas-powered motorcycle, the electric motorcycles are fuel-free and charged through an electrical outlet.

"They have a cable that plugs into the side and you can plug it into pretty much any typical outlet or wall," he said. "They're not loud and they're very discrete on the paths. We don't want to disrupt the serenity of the footpaths. You can get 150 to 200 miles on it, but we get a couple of shifts out of it at lower speeds. You drain more of the battery at high speeds."

Schlossnagle said the motorcycles also "spark a conversation" among children. "The bikes just act as a tool to draw people in," Schlossnagle said. "Kids love them. We have something going on now called Operation Chill, where we hand out tickets to kids for being good and they get a free Slurpee with it."

Former Columbia resident Clara Swarup, now of Catonsville, said the safe surroundings and friendly officers are why she continues to bring her two children back to the lake.

"As kids grow, they have a vision of becoming a police officer," Swarup said. "I think [pathway patrols] are very good. Being able to go up and talk to them is easier than calling 9-1-1 and waiting for somebody to arrive."

Because, Salafia added, how much can officers really see from a patrol car? "You can only see so much as you're driving around, trying to make sure that you're following the traffic signals and watching for people," Salafia said.

Kruhm said the Pathway Patrol Section still has a lot of ground to cover, but the officers have a good head start.

"We've mostly been concentrating on both sides of Route 29 in Columbia," he said. "We actually already started venturing out this week. We're trying to span out as much as we can with the people that we have. Most of what we've seen is a lot of happy people, enjoying the weather and paths."

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