To Pedal and To Serve: Hermitage Police Department rolls out bicycle officer
By David L. Dye Herald Staff Writer, June 5, 2022
Photo: Hermitage police Patrolman Camillo DiLorenzo demonstrates the Trek Dual Sport hybrid bike he’ll be using to patrol certain areas of Hermitage, along with a new reflective uniform that is yet to arrive. JANEE AVERY | Herald
HERMITAGE PA — Whether it’s on a trail or at a festival, Patrolman Camillo DiLorenzo will be out interacting with a community — but instead of driving a police cruiser, he’ll be riding a bicycle.
Serving as the Hermitage Police Department’s first bicycle patrolman, DiLorenzo won’t be completely trading in his patrol cruiser. But starting this year, residents can expect to see DiLorenzo at local events such as the Hermitage Arts Festival or Light Up Parade, or patrolling the area’s many trails and certain neighborhoods.
As someone who was already interested in physical fitness, DiLorenzo said he’s looking forward to patrolling on the bike, a Tek Duel Sport hybrid, which will have lights, mirrors, a supply bag, and other features.
“If I could, 10 times out of 10, I’d be on the bike,” DiLorenzo said.
The idea for a bicycle officer developed over the past several years as the city incorporated more trails and other areas that helped promote physical fitness, such as the Trout Island Trail, which begins in Sharpsville but has a significant portion within Hermitage.
Although it’s not often police get called to the various trails for suspicious people or medical situations, Hermitage police Chief Eric Jewell said accessing the trails can be difficult, or sometimes impossible, for police cruisers or ambulances.
Aside from easier access to outdoor areas, Jewell said the program can also lead to beneficial interactions with the community, where DiLorenzo can interact with residents, while residents can more easily approach DiLorenzo than if he were on patrol in a cruiser.
“You can be out among people, and they can come over and meet me and talk to me,” DiLorenzo said.
Funding for the program’s bike, equipment and training, which totaled about $3,000, was provided by the estate of the late Al Puntureri.
Puntureri, a local businessman who founded Interstate Chemical Company, had previously approached the Hermitage Police Department about doing something to support the department, but then he passed away in 2021. Board members of the Shenango Valley Foundation moved forward with the donation in Puntureri’s memory.
The Hermitage Bicycle Shop also worked with the police department on the project, with co-owner Mike Kavulla keeping police informed on bikes, equipment and availability, with Mike’s wife and co-owner Debbie Kavulla handling the billing information, DiLorenzo said.
“I was trying to find a bike back in mid-2020, but everyone was buying bikes,” Jewell said. The pandemic had caused an increase in bike popularity coupled with manufacturing shortages.
To prepare DiLorenzo as a bike patrolman, he attended an International Police Mountain Bike Association course at Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio in late May. An important part of the training included safety and awareness, since riding a bike offers significantly less protection than being inside of a police cruiser.
Other lessons ranged from improving endurance and agility to a test where students had to ride a bike in a 9-by-9-foot square of orange cones.
“It gets to the point where if I leave without the bike, it feels like something’s missing,” DiLorenzo said.
Although he’s still wearing his traditional Hermitage Police Department uniform and vest, DiLorenzo will have a proper bike uniform consisting of a yellow reflective top, along with bike shorts, long pants, long sleeves and a jacket, depending on the weather or time of year.
The bike uniform hasn’t arrived yet due to supply chain issues, but DiLorenzo was able to hit the streets on his bike for the recent Memorial Day parade in Hermitage in his regular police uniform.
Based on the response from the parade’s crowds, DiLorenzo said the bike patrol has already proven capable of generating the kind of friendly interactions with residents that police officials hoped for.
“Within 30 seconds, I had kids waving and people talking to me,” DiLorenzo said. “And later on, people came up to me when I’m out of uniform and asked, ‘were you the one on the bike?’”