By Maureen Becker,
IPMBA Executive Director
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Members of the law enforcement training
community quickly learned that bike cops possess more than just pedal power
as police cyclists walked off with 24 medals out of a possible 45 during
the First Annual Law Enforcement Skills World Championships, a feature of
the American Society for Law Enforcement Training's (ASLET) Annual Conference.
The Championships, held on February 16 in Orlando, Florida, consisted of
six skills events: tactical foot pursuit, tactical pistol response, threat
recognition, pursuit driving, use of force, and, of course, police bicycle
pursuit.
When ASLET decided to include a mountain bike competition as part of the
Skills Championships, they came to the experts at IPMBA. IPMBA was proud
to share the collective experience of certified instructors Artie Gonzales
(Topeka KS), Gary McLaughlin (Sacramento CA), T.J. Richardson (San Antonio
TX), and Kathy Vonk (Ann Arbor MI). With the seemingly unlimited support
and resources of Sgt. Rich Adair and the Osceola County Sheriff's Office
(FL), a challenging course was designed and constructed.
After negotiating numerous obstacles, including several tight cone maneuvers,
a series of teeter-totters, a fence, and a balance beam, competitors were
required to take down and cuff Controlled F.O.R.C.E. "Freddy," a training
dummy that possesses wrists, arms, elbows, and knees that function much like
those of humans and that "resists arrest." Bike patrol officers from as far
away as California turned out to put their skills to the test. They competed,
individually and as teams, in the bike event as well as in all but one of
the other events. The only event in which bike cops declined to participate
was pursuit driving - no big surprise.
When the Skills Championships came to an end and the winners announced, the
results were clear - bike cops rule! Not only did bike patrol officers sweep
the awards for the bike competition, they walked off the stage with an impressive
number of medals in the other categories as well. IPMBA congratulates all
the winners, but especially the following police cyclists:
David Brady (Dublin PD, CA): First Place Team, Tactical Foot Pursuit;
First Place Team, Bicycle Pursuit; First Place Male, Bicycle Pursuit.
Kit Bryan (Orange County SO, FL): Second Place Team, Bicycle Pursuit.
Brad Conway (Seattle PD, WA): First Place Male, Tactical Pistol Response;
First Place Team, Tactical Foot Pursuit; First Place Team, Bicycle Pursuit.
Edward Croissant (Tampa PD, FL): Third Place Male, Threat Recognition.
Bill Edgar (Orlando PD, FL): Third Place Male, Bicycle Pursuit; Third
Place Team, Bicycle Pursuit.
Lou Ann Hamblin (Van Buren Township PD, MI): First Place Female, Threat
Recognition; First Place Female, Tactical Foot Pursuit; First Place Female,
Bicycle Pursuit.
Paul Hollingsworth (Orange County SO, FL): Second Place Team, Bicycle
Pursuit.
Sonya McCaughy (Tampa PD, FL): Second Place Female, Bicycle Pursuit.
Jason Pearson (Winter Garden PD, FL): Third Place Male, Tactical Foot
Pursuit; Third Place Team, Tactical Foot Pursuit.
T.J. Richardson (San Antonio PD, TX): Third Place Male, Tactical Pistol
Response.
Kathleen Vonk (Ann Arbor PD, MI): Second Place Female, Tactical Pistol
Response; Second Place Female, Threat Recognition; Second Place Female, Tactical
Foot Pursuit; Overall Champion, Female.
John Ward (Orange County SO, FL): Third Place Team, Bicycle Pursuit.
Darin Zaremba (Medina PD, OH): Second Place Male, Bicycle Pursuit.
First place bike pursuit winners David Brady and Lou Ann Hamblin each went
home with a brand-new Ibis police bicycle (non-motorized), courtesy of
Zapworld.com, and a year's membership in IPMBA.
IPMBA thanks ASLET, Controlled F.O.R.C.E., and Zapworld.com for their roles
in putting together a terrific event. Please visit
www.aslet.org,
www.controlledforce.com;
and www.zapworld.com
to find out more about each.
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