Officers get schooled in bike riding

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Most of us can ride a bike, but some officers around the Cape Fear are taking it to a whole new level. The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is holding classes to train officers to fight crime on bikes.

“I mean, everybody knows how to ride a bicycle, but by being here, we are learning how to negotiate obstacles,” says Chris Stewart, a New Hanover County deputy and course instructor. “How to climb stairs, how to go down stairs, and how to use the bike as a tool.”

Stewart says the class is designed to teach an officer how they can use the bike to help them do things like maneuver quickly around crowds and cover large areas where roads are not accessible.

Paxton Henderson lives off of Market and 29th streets. He says with all the crime in his neighborhood, having trained bike officers would be extremely beneficial.

“You’re not going to out run a trained cyclist, especially someone who has authority to prevent this sort of crime,” says Henderson.

The course is sponsored by Cape Fear Community College and upon completion, every officer receives a certificate. New Hanover County deputies along with Wilmington and Leland Police Departments are participating in the class.

“We really hope to focus on neighborhoods that are having crime problems and causing breakins, day or night,” says Stewart. “It will give us another opportunity to maybe catch these crimes in progress versus just riding through a neighborhood with the windows rolled up.”

Henderson says robberies and breakins are fairly common where he lives, and feels having officers on bikes could be more helpful in fighting crime than vehicle patrols.

“I think just having the cops right there, face to face, in person would be helpful,” says Henderson. “There’s not the vehicle barrier. There’s not the mounted cop. There’s not the high horse, if you will. It’s actually them, real people, and ready to help you.”

Deputies say they hope to have another bike class some time next month.