Montpelier Police Officers Patrol City on Two Wheels
By Alexandra Leslie | aleslie@nexstar.tv, Published 05/20 2016 10:29PM
MONTPELIER, Vt.
Driving through downtown Montpelier can sometimes be a hassle, and for law enforcement, the confines of a police cruiser is not always the best way to patrol the city.
With warmer weather, those in the downtown area will notice officers from Montpelier Police Department on bike patrol, as opposed to driving in a police cruiser.
Officer Michael Philbrick is currently the only full-time bike patrol officer, but there are several officers with bike certification training, and are on the bikes part-time for special events, such as July 4th festivities.
"The bike allows us to be much more out and available to the community, and also allows us to patrol in areas that are not typically patrolled by cars," Philbrick said.
Philbrick says while most run-ins are peaceful and friendly, officers are trained to use the bicycle as a weapon, if necessary.
"You can fend somebody off with a bike, or I can drop the bike and it will be an obstacle," Philbrick said.
Philbrick says law enforcement is first and foremost about education.
"Education then leads to more safety, safer roads. Because if somebody then changes their behavior because we've had a conversation with them, then everybody's a little bit safer," Philbrick said.
If officers can't have a conversation face to face, they also have literature to leave on people's cars.
"So if I'm riding by, see a dog in a car, I check on it, make sure it's ok, but I can leave literature too," Philbrick said.
In addition to getting a good workout and being more accessible to the community, Philbrick says having an officer on a bike versus in a cruiser also saves on gas money.
Watch the video: http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/montpelier-police-officers-patrol-city-on-two-wheels