Minneapolis Cops On Bikes Regaining Balance For Summer
By Angela Davis, WCCO CBS Minneapolis, April 30, 2015 6:46 PM
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Now that it’s warm outside, you’ll see more police officers on bikes.
On Thursday, Minneapolis police kicked off spring training for the department’s Bicycle Rapid Response Team.
Most of the officers haven’t been on bikes since last fall, so they spent the day getting re-acquainted with their two-wheeled vehicles and practicing maneuvers they may need while on patrol.
It’s a scenario that will likely take place at some point this summer: Officers on bikes swarm in and take down a suspect, before arresting him.
Sgt. David Hansen pretended to be the bad guy in drills Thursday, but he actually oversees the 50-officer specialty bike unit.
“We kick off our bike season with this spring training program,” he said. “The officers on bikes have the opportunity to get the bugs out, work on some of their skills and practice and be ready for their deployment throughout the summer.”
He described the advantages they have.
“They can go places that squad cars cannot,” he said. “They can travel much faster than officers on foot can. You kind of get the best of both worlds.”
The officers are all bike-certified, meaning they went through a week of special training, plus an additional class to learn crowd-control tactics — skills needed for patrolling parades, festivals and protests.
“They have to be able to ride their bikes at a real slow speed, because most of those people are walking,” Hansen said. “They need to ride tight and together so they can still function as a team and be safe.”
Police say they’ve found a surprising benefit to being on a bike instead of behind the wheel of a squad car.
“We found that citizens in general take a whole different stance to cops on bikes,” Hansen said. “They just assume that they are friendlier and more approachable.”
The officers on bikes carry all of their normal gear, including a gas mask and large bottle of mace.
You’ll see the Minneapolis officers on bikes through November.
Watch the video: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/04/30/minneapolis-cops-on-bikes-regaining-balance-for-summer/