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 A group of Asheville’s police officers are braving the high temperatures this week, maneuvering their way through cone courses, learning how to correctly lean into a skid and how to quickly dismount their mode of transportation and draw their firearm.
But they aren’t in cars...They’re on bikes. The APD is training 15 officers in bicycle patrol techniques this week, including two officers from the Black Mountain Police Department. The APD’s Bike Patrol has operated in the past, but is being reinvigorated as part of the department’s continued commitment to community policing. Training concludes Friday and citizens will start seeing Bike Patrol officers on the streets next week. The department’s goal is to eventually have these patrols throughout all districts of the city. Officers on bikes are a friendly presence, but they’re also a stealthy, unexpected one in the hard-to-reach places where crime tends to occur. Bike units will broaden the APD’s patrol abilities, especially when it comes to pursuing suspects who are on foot. Det. Mike Lamb and Capt. Tim Splain are training the officers. Det. Lamb said bike patrols are valuable because they enable officers to get closer to citizens and to be known outside of their patrol cars. While the officers were on a training ride through downtown this week, several people applauded them as they rode by, offering support and encouragement. “That really increases the morale of officers,” Det. Lamb said, “when they see the kind of positive feedback from the community that we’ve been getting.” (Images provided by 4Bike-Police.)
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