Edison Donation Lets Police Bike Patrol Unit Power Up

The nation’s safest big city may soon be just a bit safer, thanks to some sleek new crime-fighting machines donated to the Simi Valley Police Department this week.

Four electric bicycles, donated by Southern California EdisonCo., will give the department’s bike armada a boost, police said.

And since the bicycles are said to quietly and unobtrusively reach speeds of up to 20 mph without pedaling, they will offer weary officers a rest, even during a pursuit.

“You get tired riding a bike,” Southern California Edison spokesman Tom Boyd said. “Once in awhile you need to cruise, and these cruise very quietly.”

The bikes should be especially useful during the holiday season, when criminals are more likely to prey on distracted shoppers, he said. That is why Edison decided to distribute the bikes during the holidays.

Nearly 400 of the EV (electric vehicle) Warriors were donated to police departments across the state.

When Edison officials told police earlier this year that the bikes would be available, more than 30 departments responded. Departments were allotted bicycles based on the sizes of their police forces and their communities.

Along with Simi Valley, police departments in Los Angeles, Anaheim, Hesperia, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley and Perris have received bikes or will be getting them, along with sheriff’s stations in Lakewood, Lomita, Riverside and San Bernardino.

Fewer than a dozen unclaimed bikes will be donated to charitable organizations, after the electrical components have been removed, Boyd said.

Though the Simi Valley bike patrol officers will eventually use the EV Warriors to navigate spaces that police cars cannot get to, the unassembled new gear is now boxed up and on hold until the head of the bike patrol unit returns from vacation next week.

“Like any new piece of equipment, we need to take a look at it and see how we can work it into our program,” Sgt. Bob Gardner said. “Right now it’s just kind of up in the air.”

Bicycles are generally used by the department to patrol parks and shopping centers, but can also be useful in areas that cannot be reached easily on foot, he said.