[from Bill C.]
I ran into Officer Chapa today riding his bike in the 800 block of Upshur. He's a great guy, I met him a while back when his beat included our block. Now he's one of two officers covering Georgia Ave from the metro up to Decatur, plus a block or so on either side, as part of Operation Full Stride. The other officer uses a segway. He explained they're both technically foot cops, but can choose the bike or segway since they've taken the training for them.
He said at first he was skeptical of the benefit of foot/bike/segway patrols, but now he has seen the light, chalking up a lot of recent arrests and positive results - like clearing out some persistent drug activity around Crittenden and Georgia - to the mobility and stealthiness of the bike. He also said he's gotten to know most of the business owners on Georgia and genuinely seemed enthused about the difference he's able to make.
This is great news. Something reasurring about seeing our officer's zooming on by...but perhaps they might introduce themselves to the residents too!
Posted by: Nina | April 01, 2008 at 02:40 PM
no kidding they don't want to be on their feet. this city has no clue when it comes to policing. get outta your damn cruisers and make a difference...!
Posted by: get on your feet | March 29, 2008 at 01:59 AM