Statewide Bicycle Response Team Cooperation Produces Positive Results
by Gordon Cairns, PCI #1686-B
Dayton (OH) Police Department
On Saturday, May 25th 2019, 720 law enforcement officers from around the State of Ohio were called upon to assist the Dayton Police Department with a planned protest that would occur later in the day. The KKK had obtained a permit to speak on Courthouse Square. There were multiple counter-protests planned at various locations around the city. Out of those law enforcement officers, 111 comprised the Bicycle Response Teams. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati were just three of the departments that sent their BRT officers to supplement the Dayton Police Department and Five Rivers Metro Parks Ranger teams.
During the preparation for this event, one of the first things discussed was the use of BRT’s. After seeing the success of BRT’s in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention, along with that of Dayton’s BRT’s during local festivals, it was immediately apparent that deploying a BRT would be crucial to the operation. Officers from the Dayton Regional Crowd Management Team (Mobile Field Force) and BRT had already been training with Columbus, building a rapport with their team. Likewise, the Dayton BRT and Five Rivers Metro Parks BRT conducted joint training prior to the protests, ensuring the teams could work together while at the same time brushing up on their tactics.
Once the day-of-event briefings were complete, the teams reported to their posts. Three teams consisting of two squads – about 60 officers – covered Courthouse Square. Another team, comprising two squads, was assigned to Riverscape MetroParks, while a single strike team went to Macintosh Park. Counter-protests were planned at these two parks, and there was concern they would move to the city center and join with the larger protests.
The crowds began to assemble at all three locations. Multiple groups consisting of Antifa, the Black Panther party, and Black Block, to name a few, arrived to protest. Multiple armed people expressing their Second Amendment rights arrived. Members of these groups were equipped with gasmasks, helmets and first aid kits. It appeared they were prepared for the worst.
The BRT’s moved among the crowds and maintained fixed posts, using stationary lines to control pedestrian movement. At the end of the day, none of the anticipated violent behavior had occurred. There was plenty of national attention on Dayton to see how we would handle this potentially volatile situation. From news agencies to online vloggers and bloggers, most agreed that the Dayton Police’s preparation prevented any major issues and that the use of BRT was instrumental in helping keep the peace. The cooperation from multiple agencies across the state for BRT-related functions is something that will be counted on in the future.
Gordon attended the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course in 2006 and was certified as an IPMBA Instructor in 2017. He attended the IPMBA Bicycle Response Team Training in 2017 and the Bicycle Response Team Instructor Seminar in 2018. He is the chair of the 2020 IPMBA Conference Committee, preparing for Dayton to host the 30th Annual IPMBA Conference, June 1-6, 2020. He can be reached at Gordon.cairns@daytonohio.gov.
Photos courtesy Gordon Cairns.
(c) 2019 IPMBA. This article appeared in the 2019 Conference Highlights issue of IPMBA News.