Remembering John F. Washington, Jr.

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by Maureen Becker
Past Executive Director

John F. Washington, Jr., PCI #461T/EMSCI #037T, was one of the original members of the University of Pennsylvania Police Department Bike Unit, which was founded in 1992. He remained involved with the bike unit until his retirement in 2013. In 1996, he attended the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course taught by Jeffrey Bare, PCI #029, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1997, he attended the IPMBA EMS Cyclist Course at the Nashville TN conference. He attended the Police Cyclist Advanced Course at the 1998 Conference in Tacoma WA, and the Maintenance Officer Course at the 2000 Conference in Tucson AZ.

He attended the IPMBA Police Cyclist Instructor Development Course at the 1999 IPMBA Conference in Chicago IL, and was certified as IPMBA PCI #416 and EMSCI #037. He began teaching extensively in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He also taught at the IPMBA Conferences in Charleston WV (2003), San Antonio TX (2004), Scottsdale AZ (2005), Dayton OH (2006), Baton Rouge LA (2007), and Albuquerque NM (2009).

He attained the status of Instructor-Trainer in 2005 at the IPMBA Conference in Scottsdale AZ. He co-taught six Instructor Courses between 2005 and 2010. In addition to the Instructor Courses at the 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 Conferences, he also taught courses in New Britain CT and Tacoma WA, both in 2008.

John stopped teaching in 2014 after his health no longer permitted him to engage in strenuous physical activity. He had taught/co-taught approximately 45 Police Cyclist Courses (350 students), 40 EMS Cyclist Courses (290 students), 12 Security Cyclist Courses (80 students), six Instructor Courses (168 students), and two PCI to EMSCI Transition Courses (11 students) - nearly 30,000 student-hours!

John was an active member of IPMBA, representing us for several years at the Police-Security Expo in Atlantic City NJ and at the National Collegiate EMS Foundation Conference in various locations. He authored articles and was a contributor to the Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling, 2nd Edition.

John loved to participate in athletic contests – mostly running and cycling. He won 14 gold medals in the Pennsylvania Police Olympics and three silver and three bronze medals in the International Law Enforcement Games. He also won trophies in police bike competitions in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore MD; Nashville TN; Norfolk VA; and Norristown, Philadelphia, Upper Darby, and Whitpain PA.

John was involved with Rotary International and was always one of the first to welcome international participants to the IPMBA Conference. In one of his last letters to IPMBA, he mentioned Mike Satlow (Israel), Tom Lynch (UK), Mick Shaw (Australia), and Adam Bernhardt (Australia). He also listed some people whose annual company he particularly missed: Allan Howard, Kirby Beck, Tom Woods, Don Hudson, Al Simpson, Mike Wear, Tom Harris, Mitch Trujillo, Artie Gonzales, Donald Reed, Wren Nealy, Monte May, Julie Cruise, Sally Swanson, Mark Eumurian, and more. He was so grateful for the card that was sent to him signed during the 2022 Conference by old friends and some who had never met him.

He signed off with the words, “Thanks again for what IPMBA did for me”.

John: IPMBA thanks you, too. Pedal on.

Photos courtesy John Brandt. IPMBA Conference 2003, Charleston WV.