They Ride With the Risk

Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Parsons, who died last month from injuries sustained when a car ran a red light and broadsided his motorcycle, was one of the best bike cops in the business, colleagues said.

But even a skilled rider like Parsons, with hundreds of hours of training and years of experience, can be vulnerable.

Motorcycle cops are among the few officers--along with bomb squads and SWAT personnel--to qualify for hazard pay. Minor scrapes, and sometimes serious injuries, are part of the job.

Law enforcement officials, however, say that motorcycle officers are needed now more than ever, as road congestion rises along with the importance of aggressive traffic enforcement.

Motorcycles can weave through traffic to get to accident scenes much more quickly than cars, and bike cops traditionally hand out far more traffic tickets.

A Dangerous Job, but Necessary

“It’s without a doubt a risky type of enforcement for those people riding the motorcycle,” said sheriff’s Lt. Rex Hatch, chief of the Laguna Hills substation and Parsons’ supervisor.

But motorcycles “are very effective [in places] where patrol units can’t quite get to,” Hatch said. “We’re very happy with them at this point and have no intention of backing away from them even though Deputy Parsons had that terrible accident.”

In Laguna Hills, Parsons single-handedly demonstrated how effective motorcycle patrols can be.

In 1997, the city decided to hire a motorcycle officer to crack down on speeders and other dangerous drivers.

With much help from Parsons, the Sheriff’s Department more than doubled the number of tickets it wrote in Laguna Hills that year, and the number of accidents in the city dropped 40%.

Benefits Outweigh Motorcycle’s Risks

Despite Parsons’ death, most say the benefits far outweigh the dangers of patrolling on motorcycles.

In the early 1980s, a series of crashes involving bike cops in Fountain Valley prompted the city to take the unusual step of disbanding its motorcycle unit.

But three years ago, the City Council brought back the motorcycles in an effort to catch speeders and other traffic violators. Since then, one officer has had an accident, suffering only minor injuries, said Fountain Valley Police Sgt. Kevin McKeown.

McKeown said motorcycle officers are involved in fewer accidents these days because of better training, more supervision and a fundamental change in attitude.

In the past, motorcycle officers often had a reputation as renegades and daredevils on Harley Davidsons who would never give up a chase, regardless of the consequences.

“I think the cops now are more mature,” said McKeown, the head of Fountain Valley’s motorcycle detail. “I don’t think we have that cowboy mentality anymore. Just because you have a motorcycle that goes 150 mph doesn’t mean you have to ride it that fast.”

McKeown said motorcycle officers can write up to 15 tickets in a day--twice as many as a cop in a patrol car.

But for Fountain Valley Councilman John Collins, a longtime friend of McKeown, the dangers inherent in driving a motorcycle up to 600 miles a week in Orange County’s busy traffic are too great.

“I’ve known Kevin for 20 years, and I don’t want to have to go to his funeral and I don’t want to have to go visit him in the hospital,” said Collins, who voted against reinstating motorcycle patrols in the city.

Parsons “put himself at a higher risk and paid the ultimate price for that,” Collins said. “If he were in a black and white patrol car, chances are he wouldn’t be dead today. To me, the risk is not worth the benefit.”

Fatal Accidents Are Rare in O.C.

According to FBI reports, 48 law enforcement officers died in motorcycle accidents nationwide between 1989 and 1998. Many more died in aircraft or car wrecks during the same period.

Fatal police motorcycle accidents are rare in Orange County, but several officers have been injured, some seriously, in recent years.

An Orange County sheriff’s motorcycle deputy who was hit by a car about seven months ago in San Juan Capistrano has retired because of his injuries, officials said.

Sgt. Kim Redifer, a 29-year veteran of the Placentia Police Department, has crashed three times in his long career as a motorcycle cop, and walked away each time.

“I think motorcycle cops are probably the most hated policemen in the world,” he said.

But “you get something in return for what you’re doing,” said Redifer, who has been riding motorcycles for most of his life.

The job usually attracts people who have a love for motorcycles and a belief that traffic enforcement saves lives, he said.

“If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t ride a motorcycle,” Redifer said. “That’s something you don’t do if you’re afraid of it.”