Officers receive training for summer policing
By Joelyn Hansen
Idaho Falls Post Register
Whoever coined the phrase ""easy as riding a bike"" never took Mike Johnston’s bike training course.
If you ask the 12 police officers who participated in Johnston’s International Police Mountain Bike Association training this week, they’ll tell you riding a bike is anything but simple.
They may even challenge you to ride your bicycle in a figure-eight pattern inside a 10-foot square while still pedaling. It sounds easy, but they’ll tell you from experience it is more difficult than you can imagine.
“By the end of the class, we get the comment, ‘I learned a lot I didn’t know about riding a bike,’” Johnston said.
This week, nine Bonneville County deputies and three Idaho Falls police officers said goodbye to their patrol cars and hello to a bicycle for a weeklong training in preparation for this summer’s bicycle patrol.
“As time permits, or situations permit, we will jump on a bike (this summer) and be out in the community,” Bonneville County Sgt. Doug Metcalf said.
The Idaho Falls Police Department has utilized the bike patrol for 13 years. Bonneville County’s bike patrol is starting its second year.
All week, officers have been seen riding their bikes around town learning the dos and don’ts of riding in traffic.
What most of the public didn’t see were the tests officers faced as they learned different maneuvers and riding techniques that will help them safely ride their bikes up and down stairs, in and among crowds and in pursuit of criminals.
Johnston said officers also learned the proper way to fall off their bikes to limit injuries and how to handle a gun while on a bike.
Although officers in some jurisdictions learn to shoot guns while riding a bicycle, Johnston said Idaho Falls and Bonneville County did not learn that this week.
Idaho Falls Police Officer Lynn Billman said the last time he rode a bicycle was in 1983.
He’s hoping, between now and May when the bike patrols start, he’ll be ready and a little bit more at ease on two wheels.
Bonneville County Deputy Todd Smith said he hadn’t been on a bicycle in 15 years. Though he managed to show off in front of the group with a few ""wheelies,"" he said his skills were definitely put to the test.
He also learned the art of eating humble pie after he fell off the bike.
Smith said he’s excited to be a part of the bike patrol this summer.
“It’s going to help us with crime prevention, and we get to have more public relations with the people,” he said.
Copyright 2010 The Post Register