Police officers and elected city officials alike enthusiastically support an initiative that would send motorcycle-bound police officers rolling across the bricks of Athens.
Though implementing an Athens Police Department motorcycle unit would require weeks of training and tens of thousands of dollars, conversations have taken place regarding its potential role in public safety.
Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said he has talked to Mayor Paul Wiehl about the merit of police motorcycles, citing the vehicles’ efficiency and agility.
“An officer on a motorcycle doesn’t have to sacrifice the power or speed for energy efficiency,” Butler said. “You can still have something that is quick and nimble yet uses less gasoline.”
Motorcycles can also increase officers' ability to detect crime, he said.
“You are in the environment, so you are more aware,” Butler said. “When you are in a cruiser, they call it a cage, because you are boxed in.”
Though he and Butler have discussed the pros and cons of motorcycle units in the past, Wiehl said that ultimately he leaves potential purchases to the discretion of Athens City Police Chief Tom Pyle.
The Athens Police Department has considered purchasing a motorcycle in the past, but Pyle said that two things always prevent the acquisition from happening –– money and practicality.
“It’s a budgetary issue as well as a practicality issue,” Pyle said. “(Motorcycles) are good for 8 months out of the year at best, so it is a cost-to-benefit ratio that you have to examine.”
New Harley Davidson motorcycles made for police use typically cost $13,500, and the riders would have to take a two-week long course before taking to the streets.
Officers would have to handle situations differently on a motorcycle as opposed to riding in the cruiser, Pyle said.
“You limit the officers' ability to make safer traffic stops because of a lack of cover, so tactics would have to be changed,” Pyle said. “Certainly they can't get involved in vehicle pursuits.”
Pyle recognized the increased potential for harm to officers as well.
“Not that their riding a motorcycle increases their chances of an accident, but if one were to occur, there is a higher likelihood that the officer's injuries would be much more severe than if they were in a car," he said. "We have to factor all of those things in."
Neither Bowling Green nor Kent use motorcycles on their police forces; however, the City of Oxford Police Department has had a motorcycle unit since 1996.
Sgt. Jon Varley of the Oxford Police Department said the motorcycle unit’s main obstacle in Oxford is an element that would be problematic in Athens as well –– brick streets.
“We don’t use motorcycles in the wintertime, and the main reason for that is our brick streets,” Varley said. “Bricks act differently than pavement when faced with ice and snow.”
Despite only seasonal use, motorcycles have otherwise been effective in Oxford, Varley said, adding that the vehicles present few difficulties while in the field.
“Occasionally it can be a problem when we have a short staff, because we can’t bring in arrests,” he said. “But that’s the only difficulty we’ve had.”
Though officers of the Athens Police Department have been interested in purchasing motorcycles, Pyle said that he doesn’t see an acquisition happening anytime soon.
"We talk about it on a pretty regular basis, but as I've said, our interest has never gotten hot to strike as far as financing (a purchase is concerned),” Pyle said.
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