Security officers on bikes patrol Hard Rock Sioux City casino
by Dave Dreeszen, Sioux City Journal, July 19, 2015
Photo: Security officer Abraham Padilla rides a bicycle through the parking lot at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City Wednesday. The downtown casino recently created a bike patrol.
SIOUX CITY | Abraham Padilla has never spent much time riding a bike for fun. But the 22-year-old was more than willing to hop on a cycle as part of his job.
Padilla is one of six security officers assigned to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City's newly-formed bike patrol. The helmet-clad officers, wearing matching bright yellow shirts and black khaki shorts, spend part of their days and nights pedaling around the downtown casino's sprawling parking lots.
As they keep an eye out for trouble spots or mischief, they also greet casino guests, provide directions and answer other questions.
"It's all customer service oriented," said Scott Knutson, Hard Rock's director of security. "We just want everybody to know we're out there watching and we're out there to help.
The bike patrol supplements the motorized patrols the security team has conducted 24-7 since the casino opened in August.
"It puts you right in touch with the guests if you're out in the lots on a bike, instead of being behind a windshield," Knutson said. "It also provides a little more visibility."
Officers in many police departments have been patrolling streets and neighborhoods on bicycles for decades but it's still somewhat unusual for casinos in Iowa to incorporate bike patrols into their security programs, according to Hard Rock officials.
The six Hard Rock security officers and the security director completed a two-day training program where they learned basic bike operation and safety, patrol procedures, crowd control and customer service interaction. The training was led by Jay Kirwan, a Bellevue, Neb., police officer who heads the department's bike patrol.
Knutson said the Hard Rock security officers were hand picked for the bike patrol detail. The first prerequisite: they had to already know how to ride a bike. There was no room for first-timers starting out with training wheels, he quipped.
While he hadn't ridden a bike much recently, Padilla said it came back to him naturally after he joined the Hard Rock bike patrols. He said his shifts as a cyclist are a nice change of pace.
"I like being outdoors," he said.
Guests notice him riding through the parking lots, where he stops often to visit with them and help direct them to where they want to go.
During the training sessions, safety was emphasized, Knutson said.
"There are times when you may have to negotiate a curve," he said. "Well, there's a right way and a wrong way to do that."
Mounted on mountain bikes, which Hard Rock purchased from Albrecht Cycle in Sioux City, the officers also learned the proper way to ride on uneven or rough terrain and even up and down steps.
They also were given instruction in crowd control techniques. Lately, they've been getting plenty of chances to put those lessons into practice. The Hard Rock's summer concert series at its outdoor entertainment at Battery Park kicked off July 11.
This weekend, thousands of out-of-town cyclists jammed the downtown streets downtown around the casino. The visitors were preparing for the first day of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, which leaves Sioux City on Sunday morning.