Moorhead Police’s bike patrols will soon return

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – Sunshine and warmth is finally here in the region, which means you can expect to see more police on two-wheels.

Moorhead Police is taking advantage of warmer temperatures by training officers for bike patrol missions.

“Following the rules of the road, things like that. And then just being able to do target enforcement on bikes. People aren’t looking for cops on bikes generally. We’re able to get out there and it’s a lot quieter. We’re able to get into areas that cars cannot get into or into the parks or on the trails along the river, things like that,” Moorhead Police Detective Nick Schultz said.

An obstacle course has officers cycling through narrow spaces to simulate the experience of riding through parks, trails or other things which can be in the way like people or cars. It also allows officers a bridge to connect with their community.

“When staffing allows, we’ll put these officers out to do that dual-role of both community policing and also that unique patrol aspect. Or in special situations, maybe we’re having burglaries or car break-ins in a certain area. These officers can go very undetected and not necessarily on the roadway. They can go through alleys, through yards, things like that so it’s an important piece to have and it’s a unique tool for us to be able to use,” Schultz said.

The officers usually operate in pairs while on bike duty.

“During the day, we’ll ride one or two. At night, we’ll ride in pairs generally just because at night, it’s a little bit different dynamic. There’s not only the dangers of just patrolling by yourself but just at night, you can be involved in a crash on your bike behind a building and no one might find you for a while if you really hurt yourself. We like to have ’em out on pairs at night just for those safety reasons,” Moorhead Police Captain Deric Swenson said.

Detective Schultz adds these officers are also out to give people an added sense of safety in the community.