Myrtle Beach police sharpening officers’ bicycle skills to improve response times
By Jennifer Roberts, WMBF, December 15, 2021 at 7:24 PM EST
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The Myrtle Beach Police Department is sharpening its response skills this week and it involves a whole lot of sweating and sprinting on bicycles.
Officials said 15 MBPD officers are participating in the Law Enforcement Bicycle School. The program kicked off Monday and wraps up on Friday.
MBPD MCpl. Tom Vest is one of the leaders for the bicycle program and says every step these officers take during bicycle school serves a bigger purpose while policing.
“Teaching people to ride bikes in ways they’ve never tried before,” said Vest. “We’ve seen a huge improvement so fast.”
He says many of the officers in the bicycle class haven’t been on bikes in months - for some, it had been years.
In addition to classroom coursework, Vest says the officers have been spending a great deal of time on bicycles, learning new techniques that will assist them with responding to calls.
He says this training is about teaching the officers to ride like police officers, not civilians.
“Doing a track stand, when you just balance a bicycle. What is normally a skill you wouldn’t try, is really important in law enforcement. It builds confidence while we’re on the bicycle, it makes us better rides, and more capable, ” Vest said.
Some officers said this is the first time they’re receiving this type of training on a bike - and the hope is that it makes the Myrtle Beach community safer.
“It’s a different patrol method,” Vest said. “So while people may be looking for a blue and white police car, they are not looking for a bicycle, so if someone is committing a crime we often ride right into the middle of it while it’s in progress. So we’re able to stop crime from happening and detain people who are in the middle of committing a crime.”
Vest says this type of training helps to show their commitment to supporting their officers with the tools they need to flourish with their agency.
Graduation day for the program is set for Friday. By that time, Vest said the officers will have clocked 100 miles on the bikes.
The MBPD is also looking to hire more certified bicycle officers.