IPMBA News

Pedaling safety on campus

By Gary Herron, Rio Rancho Observer, March 26, 2018 

After a 19-year hiatus, officers from the Rio Rancho Police Department began riding mountain bikes on duty a couple years ago.

Maybe you’ve seen one on the Rio Rancho High School campus, where School Resource Officer Ray O’Lesky was keeping his eyes on the March 14 National Walkout Day proceedings.

In January 2016, then-Chief Michael Geier approached O’Lesky to create a proposal to get the four SROs on bicycles as part of his Community Partnership Initiative. This was a breakthrough for O’Lesky, who has been an International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) member since 2007.

He was a patrol and bike officer with the University of New Mexico Police Department from 2007-09. O’Lesky joined RRPD in August 2009 and became an SRO in 2013.

Since transferring to RRPD, his push to “bring back the bike” had been met with resistance due to staffing and budget shortages.

Then Geier, a former bike officer, took over as head of the department in 2014. Geier was formerly the commander of APD’s Southeast Area Command, where bike officers made a significant impact.

In 2015, when he learned of his officers’ interest, the bike idea started to become a reality. With the help of former bike patrol officers from what was once the Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety, a pilot program was launched.

In the spring of 2016, O’Lesky and fellow School Resource Officer Chris Beck asked the principals of RRHS and Cleveland High School if they would buy four patrol bikes. Both principals agreed, and four Fuji bikes joined the RRPD fleet.

In June 2016, using three additional bikes loaned by Rio Rancho Public Schools Security, RRPD sent seven officers to the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course taught by Santa Fe Police Department. Since then, the ranks have grown to 10 certified officers, with another six expected to be certified in April.

RRPD has purchased three of its own mountain bikes, which will hit the road this spring.

O’Lesky and Beck have since presented several bike-safety rodeos for children, and requests for more rolled in from civic groups.

“Persistence is the key,” O’Lesky said. “And a little luck helps, too.”

“I have no doubt that the dedication and motivation our group has will positively affect the community, and … mountain bikes will be opened up department-wide as a functional and useful tool for years to come,” he added.

He said new Chief Stewart Steele “(is) buying us bikes to keep the program alive.”

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