[manimal]

but then I finally got approval to ride my own bike (P2)on patrol


i was hoping for a full on bike squad after myself and several others went through the, very elementary, police bike school; however, trying to talk the brass into something brand new takes time. so in the meantime, my boss is rather supportive in letting me ride in our drug areas while on my normal patrol schedule. the plan is that i make some good open air drug busts while utilizing the stealthiness of the bike and hopefully, in time, the upper brass will notice the benefits of a full time bike squad.

we have new uniforms on order that don't look so...uh....summer parade-ish and are more jersey-like comfortable.

so anyway, i feel like i'm living the dream or something. i have a job that i enjoy and i get to ride my bike as part of it!

...although, it takes some getting used to riding in 25lbs of gear strapped to you.

tools of the trade

i think i'll like the new, stealthier, jerseys when they come in.

 

[splat]

Cool ! , are you going to get the Nite rider police lights for it ?

 

[manimal]

oh yeah....so far, no one at work has noticed my sniping green soldiers on the down tube

 

[manimal]

nah, no cool police lights...the less bulky stuff the better. i'm working on approval to use a black camel back to hold my extra gear in because i refuse to put one of those huge racks on the bike. i just need to make it uber quick release, probably cut it at the shoulder and tie it back together with a zip tie. then cut the zip tie just a little bit so that if someone grabs hold of the pack it'll come off and not pull me down. that new camelback freeride bag looks like it'll do the trick and i'll be able to write it off

 

[Angus]

You realize you can "upgrade your bike " now and the parts could be deducted from your tax base since this is a work vehicle!

 

[ridetoofast]

im guessing there is a messenger bag out there that would suit your purposes without having to bastardize a c'back...just a thought

either way good luck.

edit
just thought of something, if/when you get your first bust you ought to try to get a pic and send it to specialized, maybe they'll help you in your crusade with the brass???

 

[splat]

oh yeah....so far, no one at work has noticed my sniping green soldiers on the down tube

cool those your Mojo ?

 

[manimal]

yup...my son has them all over his bike too.

 

[manimal]

You realize you can "upgrade your bike " now and the parts could be deducted from your tax base since this is a work vehicle!

yup! i plan on getting a set of the new specialized compound tires and maybe a nice HID headlight too. plus, i can claim the h-bars/tires and ODI lock-ons i bought when i took the bike course.

 

[Ciaran]

Manimal, that is just awsome!

You are the only cop who actually makes me want to be a cop. I can see you hucking off some wall into a gropup of criminals. Death from above on a bike!!!!

The sniper mojo rocks.

 

[TreeSaw]

That's AWESOME Crime fighting while ridin' your bike...sweet!

 

[OGRipper]

Wow that is really cool. Best of luck pioneering this program, there are a bunch of thugs out there that should be quaking in their boots. There are some fairly visible bicycle cops here in SF, I have no idea how successful the program is but it might be something to look at to support your initiative. Also, it would be super rad if you could go under cover and get to wear your normal riding gear...is visibility/deterrence part of the plan?

 

[valve bouncer]

"Stop or I'll huck"......nice one Manimal.

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

How does running greas with out an SRS work. Do you ever loose your chain?

*Highjack over*

You can consider your self a person being payed to ride his bike know. I know you will be going down the street just waiting and you will manuel down the street of bunny hop the curbs. Awesome!

 

[Transcend]

What happens if you have to ditch your bike for some reason, and it gets jacked?

Just curious, I'd be afraid of seeing it go missing.

 

[Nick]

What happens if you have to ditch your bike for some reason, and it gets jacked?

Just curious, I'd be afraid of seeing it go missing.

I was thinking the same thing. You need some big POLICE stickers on your frame.

I wonder if being seen patroling on your bike (a "cool bike") will give some more impressionable kids a new perspective about cops.

 

[JohnE]

I was a Cop for a few years...I was turned down for bike patrol because "You would have too much fun."
Did we really need the butt shot? Have fun, but not too much!

 

[manimal]

TPS - i run a double bash-guard setup. i have a regular aluminum bash guard on the inside that is higher than the chain so it can't really bounce off on either side. i've been running that setup for years on both hardtails and FS bikes and i've never dropped a chain.

Transcend - it's a small worry but if i have to ditch my bike (foot chase across non-rideable terrain) there is usually another officer in close proximity. anytime i leave it out of eyesight i handcuff it to something or at least the fork to the downtube so it can't be ridden.
i'm also having some small POLICE stickers made up and i doubt any pawn shop around here would take it like that and it would be stupid easy to spot. besides....i've got renters insurance

 

[manimal]

I wonder if being seen patroling on your bike (a "cool bike") will give some more impressionable kids a new perspective about cops.

i hope so...did a long manual past some middle schoolers getting off the bus on friday...got some strange looks

 

[maxyedor]

How stealthy can one be with a pistol on their hip? I ride prepared with a patch kit and all but that calls anybody's atention

 

[manimal]

How stealthy can one be with a pistol on their hip? I ride prepared with a patch kit and all but that calls anybody's atention

you'd be VERY surprised how easy it is to roll up on an open air drug sale. the lookouts are looking for cars, not bikes and i can hide in a lot of places to just observe.....then i can be up on the bad guy before he know's what hit him.

 

[Dartman]

That's what some of my bike cop friends say. Most are so shocked that they don't even run.

 

[S.K.C.]

...yup them bicycle patrols ARE quite stealthy. I was with 2 friends of mine leaving a bar at Penn State during Arts Fest and my buddies decided to duck down an alley to take a leak. In spite of me telling them this was a bad idea since the police presence was doubled (we had riots here back in 2000) w/ mounted troopers and the like - but they went ahead and found a dark recessed doorstep anyway.

I was lookout, standing in the ally, pretending to look through my wallet for something, and before I could turn around to warn them w/o being conspicuous, 2 bicycle patrolman rolled up on me from my right. Apparently they were watching us since we entered the ally. My line of sight didn't pick them up at all in the sparse pedestrian traffic down the ally. They must have been about two blocks away from our location.

Anyway I just stood there, the cops went past me and busted my 2 dumbass buddies. They were embarassed and polite with the patrolmen, so no arrest, only a fine.

I have to tell you though, when I saw them coasting toward me side-saddle getting ready to ditch, it scared the hell outta me. I was like "Where in the hell did they come from???"