West Point police announces new bike patrol unit
Posted: Dec 20, 2014 11:57 AM ESTUpdated: Dec 20, 2014 11:57 AM EST
By David Hurst, wrbl.com
In photo left to right are Bill Gladden, director of the Charter Foundation; Julie Ambrose, VP of the Troup-Valley region of Charter Bank; Sgt. T. Brown; West Point Mayor Drew Ferguson; Chief Tony Bailey and Capt. Robert Fawley.
WEST POINT, Ga. -
The West Point Police Department is rolling out their first bike patrol unit thanks to a grant from the Charter Foundation.
West Point police and city officials accepted the $4,200 check on Friday. The department will use the money to purchase bikes and equipment for their bike patrol unit to begin in Spring 2015. Officers will be required to complete a training and physical fitness course to qualify for the unit.
“The goal of the West Point Police Bike Patrol Unit is to enhance the Police Departments' efforts in the areas of community relations and crime prevention. Having our police officers on bicycles is a great way to encourage interaction between police officers and our citizens”, said West Point Police Chief Tony Bailey.
“We intend to accomplish a better view of the police department and relationships with the citizens. The means used will simply be more interaction between the police officers and citizens. The West Point Police Department does not currently employ a bike patrol unit”, said Sgt. Tunya Brown.
Police bike patrol units are on the rise across the country. Columbus police and Columbus State police have announced increasing their bike patrols within the past few years.