University Police Sergeant leads bike patrol training

While mountain biking around Richmond isn’t your typical police officer’s afternoon, 18 officers did just that. They were training for bike patrol in a 40-hour cyclist certification program run by Virginia Commonwealth University Police.

Sgt. William Butters of University Police led five days of classroom and outdoor training aimed at making law enforcement more mobile – and friendlier.

“They’re not just riding bikes, they’re doing law enforcement,” Butters said.

Eleven Richmond Police Department officers and six from University Police were joined by officer James Patterson from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.

They spent mornings the week of March 22 at the Police Academy near Virginia Union University learning bike basics, the laws of cycling and techniques on paper.

In the afternoons, they crisscrossed Richmond to learn bike handling and law enforcement skills.

Lt. Jim Peace, co-instructor of the course and a former bike patrol officer and supervisor, said road skills are critical.

“If you’re going to put a uniform on and you’re going to ride a bicycle that’s a piece of police equipment, you need to have beyond normal understanding of all the laws and techniques,” Peace said.

Butters and Peace used the varied terrain of Byrd Park to teach skids, dismounts, pursuits, stair climbing and curb jumping. Butters led small groups down a tight trail to learn how to avoid obstacles safely.

“My favorite part of the training is the off-road stuff,” he said. “We can ride in the streets all day, and they’re only going to run into so many obstacles.”

Atop VCU’s Broad Street Parking Deck, officers lined up for three low-speed maneuvering tests. To pass the course, they needed to thread through two traffic cone courses and cut tight circles within more orange cones.

The cone courses teach how to slowly ride in crowded areas, Butters said.

Cycling experience and fitness varied within the group. Participants had to pass a baseline cardiovascular fitness test to get into the program. Group rides around Richmond reinforced traffic skills and energy levels.

Peace and Butters said bike patrol officers become more fit on the job, decreasing stress and sick days.

Fahrenbruch said she patrols on bike almost daily.

“I get paid to be a cop and ride a bike. It’s the greatest job in the world for me,” she said.

Her Special Operations colleague Larry Smithson said his supervisor wanted all officers bike-certified. He said the certification program was well run, and that he was up to speed despite not having ridden a bike in 10 years.

“The only thing I had a minute problem with was the slow-speed and balance course,” Smithson said.

University Police Officer Greg Paisley said the course was very physical.

“We try to work out and keep in shape, but this is working muscles that you just don’t work on a normal basis. You know it after a few days,” he said.

Friday afternoon, Butters challenged participants with a timed course in Byrd Park to emulate responding to an emergency six blocks away. After descending a ramp, circling a traffic circle, jumping a stage and hook sliding around a tree, they had to dismount the bike and run.

Paisley blew an inner tube descending the stage’s stairs, and many tumbled to the finish as their legs gave out after dismounting.

Urban areas like VCU’s campuses amplify the advantages of bike patrol, Butters said. University Police have officers on bikes 24/7 because of the speed advantage on the traffic- and pedestrian-choked streets. The first on scene at the recent dog attack in Monroe Park was a bike patrol officer.

Foot pursuits are obsolete because bikes are faster, Butters said. Officer Lisa Fahrenbruch of the VCU Special Operations Unit said catching lawbreakers mid-crime is easier on a bike.

“For whatever reason people don’t expect to see a police officer on a bike,” she said. “You can just roll up and catch them in the act.”

Peace said the greatest advantage and disadvantage is exposure to the environment.

“You’re out there in touch with so much more,” he said. “You hear more, you see more, you smell more. You can police a whole lot better when you get yourself out of that enclosure that is a police car. You can catch a lot more crooks. You sneak right up on them – and that’s a beautiful thing.”

Bike patrols blend well with community policing, the instructors said. Peace said it boils down to two-way communication and focusing your time and energy.

Butters emphasized the approachability of the bike patrol officers.

“If they’re a problem in your neighborhood and you’re sick of it you might say, ‘Hey, can I tell you about something?’ It’s a lot more face-to-face interaction,” he said.

The mountain bike revitalized bike patrolling and was dubbed “the ultimate vehicle” by Peace.

In the 1990s, departments began outfitting officers with the sturdy bikes that could handle the rigors of daily abuse. According to Bicycling Magazine, there are about 30,000 bike patrol officers at U.S. police departments.

Outfitting an officer with a pair of seasonal all-weather uniforms and a quality bike such as a Cannondale or Trek costs less than $2,000, Peace said, a fraction of the cost of a car.

VCU now runs the area’s cyclist training based on International Police Mountain Bike Association’s programs.

Butters said the course went well, crediting extra effort individual officers put in to learning the techniques.

“We had 18 students, and 18 passed. It doesn’t always happen that way, but this time it did,” Butters said Friday afternoon.

There were no injuries except for a pair of bruised bikes that needed a ride back to the Police Academy on Peace’s Jeep.