Night Patrol in Las Cruces, New
Mexico
by Wallace Downs, PCI # 740
Las Cruces PD (NM)
The cold winter nights are slowly going
away and the night people are emerging from their winter hibernation. It
is time to increase the night-time presence of bike cops. And we need to
do it carefully, tactically, and effectively.
As an IPMBA Instructor, I take very seriously the "Rules of the Road" sections
of the IPMBA courses. Every effort is made to make sure all of our bike officers
understand that they must obey and enforce bicycle safety ordinances, be
predictable and be seen, and set an example to the public. But when we are
on the prowl for criminal activity, we don't want to be seen and we don't
want to be predictable, or we will lose our tactical advantage.
Las Cruces bike officers wear very little, if any, retro-reflective material
on our uniforms. Our Bratwear uniforms are black and except for the "POLICE"
on the back, they have very little light coloring. Only dark-colored shoes,
helmets, and gloves are worn. Most of the reflectors are removed from the
bicycles, which are mostly dark grey or black. For when we want to be seen,
we have powerful Niterider headlights and oversized Trek tail lamps. And,
of course, we have the red and blue police lights for when we want to let
people know who we are when we want them to yield. Radio headsets are utilized
to reduce unwanted noise.
With all this effort we put into not being seen, we have to avoid getting
hit by cars. Our students go through a lot of technical skill development,
both on- and off-road, to give them the skills they need to avoid having
to ride in the road. Alleyways, parking lots, sidewalks all can be safer
places to patrol from if you have the skills to maneuver the obstacles that
they will throw at you. Curbs, parking blocks, stairs, uneven surfaces, parked
cars, telephone poles, signs, etc., are all part of the experience if you
are riding away from the road.
We can gain a tactical advantage when we are able to see who is approaching
us in a car and what they are doing (drinking a beer, using drugs, setting
up for an assault) rather than having them see us. Our city ordinance allows
bicyclists to use the sidewalks when pedestrians are not, if the road is
hazardous. At 2:00 a.m., when the bars let out, and you are patrolling in
gangland, the "farthest right as practicable" may not be the safest area.
So far, our department has not have had any "Battery on a Peace Officer"
cases from moving cars, but we have had several "Assault" cases on bike officers
from occupants in vehicles. These assaults tend not to occur when the officer
is facing and looking directly at the potential assailant, but if one were
to occur, the officer would be able to provide a description.
We just recently provided "in service" training for our already certified
bike officers. The one-day training was divided between firearms in full
gear and a long, technical off-road ride through the local desert mountains
trails. Even though it was raining and snowing during the last hour of the
ride, everyone came away with refreshed skills to put in their "tool bag"
for patrolling at night and being as safe as possible.
Wallace is one of the founding members of the Las Cruces TnT team (see
IPMBA News, Summer 2004). He was certified as an IPMBA Instructor in 2004
and serves as the LCPD's senior bike instructor. He can be reached at
wnbdowns@aol.com.
© 2005 IPMBA. This article appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of IPMBA
News. |
