Risk Is Constant Companion of Motorcycle Officers

Those who rode with him called him flawless, and they had good reason. Officer Steven Phillips had trained every motorcycle cop in the Westminster Police Department. With 13 years’ experience, he could ride circles around everyone else.

But even that couldn’t save Phillips, who was killed two weeks ago, when, police say, the driver of a Nissan sedan pulled in front of him. Now, instead of having a partner for his night shifts, Officer Don Webb has a sticker he wears on his helmet -- “11M” -- Phillips’ call sign over the radio.

Phillips was the fourth Orange County motorcycle officer in four years to be killed in a traffic accident, the highest number in any California county. Statewide, nine officers have died in the same period, including two in Los Angeles County, two in San Diego County and one in Riverside County.

The number of Orange County deaths underscores the risks motor officers face in the suburbs, say advocates of getting police off motorcycles.

“You just don’t need motorcycles in some of these outlying areas,” said George Nuttall, a retired captain and motorcycle instructor with 29 years’ experience in the California Highway Patrol. “The sad thing about these accidents is that, if they were in a patrol car, they’d be OK.”

In Orange County, the Sheriff’s Department went from six motorcycle officers in 1991 to 33 in 2003. The CHP has added 125 cycles in the last four years as towns have grown quickly up and down the state.

Local police departments say the maneuverability that motorcycles offer is crucial in their fight against traffic problems.

“Sometimes a motorcycle can weave through traffic while all a patrol car can do is sit and wait,” said Paul Sorrell, the police chief of Fountain Valley, a bedroom community of 54,978 in Orange County with little crime but lots of traffic. Traffic enforcement prevents accidents, he said, and because motorcycles do that, “we need them out there.”

But no one in law enforcement denies the danger of motorcycles. The bikes are the most hazardous form of motor vehicle transportation, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2002, 20.9 cars out of 100,000 ended up in fatal crashes. Motorcycles, on the other hand, had more than three times that rate with 66.7 out of 100,000 involved in fatal crashes. The vehicles are so dangerous that most police departments offer their motor officers hazard pay -- the same benefit given to members of bomb squads and SWAT teams.

“They say there are two types of motor officers,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Geoff Taylor. “Those who go down, and those who are going to go down.”

Stuck on his couch with a fractured leg, Officer Connor MacIvor falls into that first category. A 13-year LAPD veteran in the San Fernando Valley, he crashed three weeks ago when a driver turned in front of him, he said.

“I thought, ‘Should I lay the bike down?’ Then I thought, ‘Is my wife still going to love me if I crash?’ Then I thought about my kids. And right before impact, I decided to jump,” he said.

MacIvor limped away from the accident with an injured leg. He was less fortunate in a 1995 crash, in which he suffered severe head trauma. He has no memory of that accident.

Motor officers face the fear and reality of such crashes every day, said Webb, the Westminster officer who spent last week preparing for Phillips’ funeral.

Sand, oil and debris can all send officers crashing, he said, but the biggest risk is drivers who turn in front of oncoming motorcycles.

Phillips, Webb’s co-worker, died at Huntington Beach Memorial Hospital of internal injuries, and the driver who had pulled in front of him died at the scene. The officer is survived by his wife, a records clerk for the Corona Police Department.

“It happens on a daily basis,” Webb said. “It doesn’t stop you from riding, but it sure does make you think about your family and all that.”

Motorcycle patrols can also be costly.

Five years ago, Placentia commissioned a cost analysis after three of the city’s four motorcycle officers were involved in accidents in a single week. One crash left an officer in a coma for three days.

According to the 1999 analysis, the bill from the three motorcycle crashes was greater than for the 42 patrol car accidents that had happened in the previous 10 years.

Nuttall, who believes that motorcycles should be used only in urban areas, said there are disadvantages beyond cost and risk of injury. The motorcycles generally aren’t used in the rain. They can’t transport suspects. The officers do not carry shotguns and lack the cover of a patrol car, which can leave them vulnerable if shootouts occur.

Those who support motor patrols acknowledge the dangers, but say the benefits are worth it.

“Clearly, there is some trade-off here,” said Jon Fleischman, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “When you’re tackling a problem, you bring as many tools to the table as you can. This is one of the most effective tools for traffic enforcement.”

In most departments, the motorcycle patrol is an elite unit. At the CHP, trainees must pass a two-week motor school, which includes the dreaded “40-mile decel” test. In certain versions, officers must accelerate to 40 mph and then stop on a dime without locking their brakes.

In return for their training, they get perks like getting to take the bike home, more freedom in their daily assignments and better pay.

“But to be honest, that’s not why we do it,” MacIvor said. “I mean, it’s not worth it -- all the worrying about whether or not I’ll be crippled for life.”

Lying on his couch, tending to his fractured bones, he counted all the funerals he had attended.

“It’s like the movie ‘Return of the Jedi.’ Every time one of us crashes, you feel an emptiness in the force. We all suck up the same exhaust. We all know what the road rash feels like when we crash,” he said.

Just the same, once he heals, MacIvor plans to get back on his Kawasaki. “I think the pros outweigh the cons,” he said. “Our mission is to save lives, so I’m going to keep doing that.”

Meanwhile, in Laguna Hills, retired CHP Capt. Nuttall says he will keep scanning the headlines, looking for more evidence for his fight to get suburban police back in cars.

“You can train them. They can be the best riders in the world,” he said. “But all it takes is one person to pull out in front of them, and they’re dead.”