Patrolling the hurricane-stricken
areas of Florida
by Gary Raulerson, PCI #782
Pasco County Sheriff's Office (FL)
Charley, Frances, and Ivan: three names
that will forever leave their mark on the state of Florida. The 2004 hurricane
season was one of the worst on record, requiring a mobilization of rescue
and law enforcement forces not seen since Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida
in 1992. The difference between then and now is that this time it required
three separate complete disaster responses in three completely separate regions
of the state. As members of our agency's Community Policing Team, we were
selected to respond to all three hurricane relief efforts within a week of
each storm. Our assignments included Saint Cloud (near Orlando), Wauchula
(South Central Florida), our own county of Pasco, and Escambia County
(Pensacola). During each of these assignments, we were there to assist the
local law enforcement agency with whatever tasks needed to be done. Our duties
ranged from answering calls to escorting supply truck convoys through the
state to ensure the supplies reached their destinations.
The one task that we had the upper hand at was area patrol. Our thirteen-member
squads are all IPMBA-certified police cyclists and we deployed to each disaster
with our cruisers and our police-issued mountain bikes. That we showed up
to these areas with multiple modes of transportation was a benefit to the
local commanders. They were not aware of how beneficial until we hit the
ground and showed them what we were able to accomplish. The most effective
example was in Wauchula.
The city of Wauchula is an old, quiet agricultural town in south central
Florida. Most of the residential streets are lined with large oaks with huge
canopies that have endured over one hundred years, mature pine trees, and
large magnolia trees. There was a tremendous amount of damage done to the
structures throughout the town. A majority of the homes within the city were
damaged, many severely, and many were total losses. Once Hurricane Charley
plowed through Wauchula, a large number of those large and tall trees came
toppling down into the living rooms, bedrooms, and garages of the residents.
There were near misses, but more often than not, there were direct hits.
Roofs collapsed and water invaded the homes. Cars were not spared either;
many became instant convertibles after trees ripped the tops off, or just
crushed the roofs. Once the storm was over, all those trees posed quite a
transportation problem, especially for emergency service providers. That
is where we came in.
As the debris began to get cleared, the tree limbs were stacked 8 - 10 feet
high along the sides of the roads. Many roads remained impassable to vehicle
traffic due to the trees lying across them. Our sergeant described it best
by comparing the stacks of tree limbs along the roadsides to the snow plow
mounds found in the north land during the winter. From a patrol car, it was
not possible to see the areas behind the stacks of tree debris while on patrol,
even when the stack of limbs was fairly short.
It was decided that we would conduct our area patrols on bike from the minute
we assessed our area of operation. Our team split into two shifts to cover
both day and night patrol. The effectiveness of the bikes cannot be emphasized
enough. Because we were on bikes, we were able to access areas and roads
that were impassable to vehicle traffic, and we could easily get behind the
stacks of debris to check on residences and businesses that were screened
from the roadway by the mounds of limbs.
Because of cooperation from the town and the presence of over 200 extra law
enforcement officers, the town remained quiet and there were few problems.
The local incident commanders in Wauchula were very impressed with the
effectiveness of the bike patrol and were disappointed to see us leave when
we were told to return home.
Not only were we able to assist the local jurisdiction during their recovery
efforts, but the public response to our presence was amazing. The citizens
were very relieved that there was still a police presence and patrol in areas
that were inaccessible to vehicles. The citizens were also impressed with
the fact that we would patrol at all hours on the bikes and in areas that
remained without power and in the dark for the entire time we were there;
it gave them reassurance and peace of mind.
After our operations in Wauchula, we were deployed several other times to
assist with recovery efforts in other jurisdictions. The same success story
could be written about each deployment in which we were involved. It proves
yet again that the police mountain bike is a viable and effective tool that
can dramatically enhance traditional patrol procedures and allow us to do
missions that would be nearly impossible in a vehicle alone.
Gary was certified as an IPMBA Instructor in September 2004, immediately
after assisting in the wake of Charley, Frances, and Ivan. He can be reached
at raulersongl@flcjn.net.
© 2005 IPMBA. This article appeared in the Summer 2005 issue of IPMBA
News. |
