Columbus’ bike cops see new world of policing
By Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch, Monday, August 1, 2016 7:36 AM
Eight months before they patrolled the streets at the recent Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Columbus police bicycle officers were very visible in another prominent location.
They were on the field at Ohio Stadium protecting the south goalpost after the Ohio State-Michigan State football game Nov. 21. Michigan State won, and 30 bicycle officers surrounded the goalpost to ward off exuberant Spartans fans eager to claim a trophy.
It was the first time bicycle officers were used to protect the goalpost. They formed a triangle around it.
And they received no grief from fans.
“A bike can do what three officers can do on foot,” said Sgt. Duane Mabry, who helps lead Columbus’ police bicycle unit. By that, he means “take up space.” Ninety officers were assigned to the stadium that day, a week after the deadly terrorist attack in Paris. The bicycle officers inside the stadium allowed 60 officers to patrol outside, Mabry said.
Two weeks ago, about 40 Columbus police bicycle cops went to Cleveland, part of a group of 140 officers who traveled north to help provide security at the convention. They were very visible, helping bicycle units from Cleveland, Akron and Fort Worth, Texas.
They lined up to help break up confrontations on downtown Cleveland’s Public Square and provided rolling barricades during protest marches. “It was nice to see how the bicycles worked for the protests, whether they be the anarchists or a church group,” said Columbus police Cmdr. Greg Bodker, who was in charge of the bicycle and mounted units in Cleveland as well as SWAT officers and helicopter pilots.
“I feel like we did our homework for Cleveland," he said. "We trained for a year.”
Mabry said a Red Cross worker told him, "Watching you guys all week was like watching a ballet."
"You can get through a crowd, it's amazing to watch," Mabry said. "It's very choreographed."
Cleveland Police Capt. Tom Mandzak, in charge of that department’s bicycle unit, said the presence of the bicycles helped de-escalate tensions.
“No one knew what to expect prior to the RNC,” Mandzak said. “The way we deployed bikes with Columbus, Fort Worth worked out well.”
In fact, Mabry said, some of the protesters who said they didn't like the police thanked the police for protecting them.
“The citizens of Cleveland were phenomenal," Bodker said. "It was clear that they wanted us there. They were concerned about their city.”
Now, Columbus officers are back home, patrolling Downtown and neighborhoods.
What did they learn there that they can apply here?
“I would say that it reinforced some of our training,” Bodker said, specifically in community collaboration and policing.
Mabry said residents see officers as more human when they are on bikes.
“People get intimidated by classic uniforms or riot gear,” he said. “How intimidating is a guy wearing a polo shirt and shorts?”
Columbus police began using bicycles in 1987: A single officer started using one after he wrecked his motorcycle, Mabry said. The division formalized and organized its bicycle unit in 2011.
Columbus now has 129 officers assigned to bicycles, Mabry said. They learned advanced crowd management tactics in 2013, when officers from the Los Angeles Police Department came here.
Mabry and another police commander traveled to Seattle this year to see how that city’s bicycle officers handled the annual May Day protests.
Jim Griffin, who leads the Columbus South Side Area Commission, said he’d like to see more bike cops in his neighborhood more often.
“They have more contact with people in the neighborhood," he said. "They’re more visible.”
Bike officers will be participating in Pelotonia this weekend.
On Wednesday, bicycle officers were patrolling around Ohio Stadium again, this time for the Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid soccer match and 86,000 fans.
Officers Bryan Mason and Michael Hinkle, prepared for that assignment at the Parkwood Avenue substation in South Linden. They normally patrol an area of a little more than 6 square miles: from Hudson Street north to Cooke Road, Interstate 71 to Sunbury Road.
“We’re a lot more approachable," Mason said. “People come out and tell us everything. The floodgates open.”