Police Motorcycles Fuel a City Debate on Safety

As Fountain Valley considers whether to reinstate its police motorcycle division, the city is haunted by several accidents 13 years ago that prompted officials to disband the unit.

The police chief says the cycles are needed to handle Fountain Valley’s traffic law enforcement, but some council members remain troubled by safety and insurance-liability questions.

“Everyone seems to agree that motorcycle officers have a greater risk of injuries,” said Councilman John J. Collins. “If they get hit, there isn’t the protection [of a car]. . . . We have to consider the injury risk to the officers and financial risk to the city.”

For the past decade, law enforcement officials across the country have done exactly that, and their efforts are bringing significant changes in both the culture and duties of motorcycle cops.

Throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, motorcycle officers cut an intimidating “maverick” profile, lurking behind billboards and sunglasses in search of speeders and barreling down the highway atop thundering Harley-Davidsons.

But faced with high injury and accident rates, police agencies in recent years have placed their motorcycle units under greater scrutiny, imposing new safety rules, requiring frequent training sessions and using lighter, more agile bikes.

The results, experts say, include fewer accidents and a more safety-conscious environment than existed when Fountain Valley cut its motorcycle unit in the mid-1980s.

“The old renegade image had the mind-set that no one got away from a motorcycle cop regardless of the situation,” said Steve Brinkerhoff, director of bike training at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. “That’s not the case anymore. Speed is no longer the key. It’s safety and technique.”

Brinkerhoff, who worked for 20 years as a Huntington Beach motor officer, said Orange County law enforcement agencies have some of the most extensive and successful training programs in the state. All departments have cycle divisions except Fountain Valley and two small agencies: La Palma and Los Alamitos.

The training programs differ in some ways but share a goal: helping officers better control their motorcycles to prevent accidents. Trainers urge officers to be aware of the traffic around them, travel at moderate speeds and use their brakes properly and sparingly.

Most accidents occur during emergency calls as police travel through crowded intersections. At high rates of speed, Brinkerhoff said, rapid braking can make motorcycles lose control and crash.

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The state began pushing for greater training in the 1980s after discovering that many officers could not perform standard maneuvers at acceptable levels. At the same time, cities began imposing more stringent safety standards in an effort to reduce the number of accidents.

Now, most departments have developed elaborate training schedules and pursuit rules--in sharp contrast to the old days, when motorcycle cops received little training and oversight.

“Initially, the personality that gravitated to the motorcycle was more of a free spirit who enjoys the feeling of being on one,” said Lt. John FitzPatrick, head of the Costa Mesa Police Department’s 12-bike traffic division.

“With the increase in accidents and traffic, our officers now take safety very seriously,” he added. “We look for officers who have control . . . and know the limitations of the motorcycle.”

In Fountain Valley, the question of bringing back the patrols is colored by several accidents more than a decade ago, including one in which an officer was hit by a car and thrown 50 feet.

Collins and other council members want the city’s 12-year-old ban to remain, saying motorcycles simply pose too great a risk both to officers and to the city’s tight financial situation. One or two serious accidents, Collins noted, could end up costing Fountain Valley more than $200,000 in medical bills and workers’ compensation claims.

“We have to be fiscally practical,” he said.

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Earlier this month, the City Council rejected the proposal by Police Chief Elvin G. Miali and asked him to work with UC Berkeley researchers to better determine the safety and financial impact of bringing back the cycles.

Miali said he understands the council’s concerns but still maintains that motor units are needed to help with traffic control along the wide boulevards that run through Fountain Valley.

Motorcycles, he said, can more easily maneuver through jammed traffic than police cruisers, bolstering traffic enforcement efforts.

“If a [police car] is sitting two to three rows back and someone makes an illegal turn, you can’t get to them because of the traffic,” he said.

If the unit is reborn, motorcycle cops will be required to complete 100 hours of training and will be subject to monthly evaluations and training sessions.

“Some of the problems we had in the past were due to a lack of training,” Miali said.

“We believe that by improving the selection of officers and more training, we can lessen the risks. We are looking for highly trained professionals, not cowboys.”