IPMBA News

More Aberdeen Patrol Officers On Bikes

June 26, 2015, 10:00 PM by Erich Schaffhauser , Keloland TV

ABERDEEN, SD - 

Police in Aberdeen are having more interaction with the public thanks in large part to bikes.

In a single trip down a city street in Aberdeen, officer Daniel McCoy can easily have multiple conversations with people when he's patrolling on his bike.

"You know, I'll have maybe even in that one trip two people talk to me from little girls riding their bikes to the old man on the porch," McCoy said.

Creating more interaction with the community is one goal the police department has when it sends officers out on bikes. The bikes serve other purposes, too.

"Obviously they can go places cars and motorcycles can't go. The bike paths and special events, they're really useful to patrol those areas," police captain Jay Tobin said.

Officers on a bicycle are more exposed which could leave them less protected, as well. Tobin says the department sends them to training specific to this type of patrol.

"They're trained to handle situations where they, you know, if they're in danger they can take action to try to minimize that so it hasn't been an issue over the years and they continue to be safe on them," Tobin said.

Eight officers have completed that training, which is a growing number for the department. They can pull people over and issue tickets on a bike just like they can in a car.

"This is just one aspect, you know. I've still got to be good at my car, still got to be good at patrol," McCoy said. "But over half my job is talking to people and this just, this just makes it easy."

McCoy wants to continue keeping an eye on the city riding on two wheels. He expects to talk with plenty of its residents because of it.

The officers on bikes also have patrol cars. McCoy says he'll head back to the station and pick up his car if he needs to respond quickly across town.

© 2015 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

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