Rocky River police to patrol city on bicycles this summer
By Patrick Cooley, Northeast Ohio Media Group, April 15, 2015
ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- During a series of car break-ins in 2013, Rocky River police officers decided they stood a better chance of catching the burglars if they used their bicycles instead of their conspicuous squad cars.
Two officers used their own bikes, and the plan worked. The capture of the burglars helped convince police officials that the department needed its own bike patrol. This summer will be the first for Rocky River's bike patrol which consists of four police officers and a supervisor.
Patrol cars have their advantages, "but they can be like a billboard. It's hard to sneak up on people," Patrolman James Foley said.
The department batted around the idea of a bike patrol for years, but money always seemed like an obstacle, Sgt. George Lichman said. This year the Rocky River Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association scrounged together four bikes and around $10,000 from various donors to get started, he said.
The International Police Mountain Bike Association says bike patrols have numerous advantages beyond clandestine investigations. Departments with bike patrols have more contact with citizens, bikes are less threatening, the bikes can go places where squad cars can't and there are added health benefits for officers.
Two nearby cities, Lakewood and Westlake, have had bike patrols since the 1990s.
Westlake's patrol has origins similar to Rocky River's, Westlake police Capt. Guy Turner said. A group of officers decided to use their own bikes to catch a group of car thieves in the act.
Bicycles let officers enter into spaces too crowded for patrol cars, Lakewood Police Capt. Ed Hassing said, such as school yards and the city's downtown when traffic becomes too congested.
Much like foot patrols, they bring officers closer to citizens, but they have the added advantage of being able to respond more quickly to police calls.
Rocky River wants to increase police presence in popular places such as parks and festivals where police cruisers aren't able to go. Officers hope bikes will allow for greater interaction with the community.
"It's hard to talk to people from a patrol car," Lichman said.
Officers will ride along with students to and from school and patrol concerts, parades, festivals and areas of the city with a high concentration of businesses, he said.
The bikes donated to the department feature 27 and a half inch wheels, red and blue flashing lights and a siren and an equipment bag at the rear of the bike. The wheels are slightly larger than those found on most mountain bikes.
Officers will train with Lakewood's bike patrol, Lichman said, learning skills such as riding up and down stairs and taking down suspects from the bike.
The patrol's season will typically begin when the weather warms up enough that large numbers of people start walking around outside. They'll run bike patrols as long as the favorable temperatures continue.
"If there are kids out walking around on Halloween, we're going to be out on our bikes, Lichman said.
For all of the good the patrols will bring by helping officers connect with the community, Rocky River officers don't discount their practical use in criminal investigations.
Edward Kolenc was one of the patrolmen who came up with the idea to use his own bike in the 2013 burglary investigation. Two days after he and a partner began patrolling the city on their bikes, the pair spotted two men rummaging through cars parked in a driveway on the city's north end.
"They never even knew we were there until we were right on top of them," he said.
The officers arrested the two men, who provided police with information that led to the capture of several other suspects, Kolenc said.
"We ended up making six or seven arrests and recovering a great deal of property," he said.
Watch the video: http://www.cleveland.com/rocky-river/index.ssf/2015/04/rocky_river_police_to_patrol_c.html