Toledo police hope to revive motorcycle unit

Council to vote on purchase of 9 Harley-Davidsons

Officials say motorcycles could respond to crimes, help control traffic, and accompany funerals and parades.

Toledo residents can expect to see fewer police officers on the streets this year than in 2011, a result of budget constraints and retirements.

But another type of patrol presence — officers riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles — could be buzzing through neighborhoods soon.

Toledo City Council is to vote Tuesday on whether to allow the police department to buy nine motorcycles and accompanying equipment for an estimated $208,000. That purchase would use up a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice awarded to the city specifically for police equipment.

If the expenditure is approved, the city will have its first police motorcycle patrol unit since 2004. The last such unit, made up of leased motorcycles, was disbanded, a victim of cost-cutting measures and tight manpower issues.

Today, the city has about 140 fewer officers than in 2004 and continues to struggle financially. But police department officials insist that this time the motorcycle unit will be put to better use and assist with a wider variety of tasks. These include responding to crimes, policing traffic, and accompanying funerals and parades.

“Before they were used for traffic enforcement — that was it,” department spokesman Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. “This time it’s going to be different. They’ll be taking calls for service, they’ll be in service, the dispatcher will be able to use them for whatever.”

Police Chief Derrick Diggs said the motorcycles will also address the community’s reported need for a larger police presence on the streets.

“Those motorcycles will help me address one of the major concerns I have from citizens — that is police visibility,” the chief told council this week. “Those motorcycles will give me additional resources.”

The move to re-establish the motorcycle unit is the brainchild of Toledo Mayor Mike Bell. A Harley enthusiast himself, the mayor said he is very familiar with the functionality of motorcycles and considers them a great tool for policing.

The motorcycles can arrive speedily at locations inaccessible to a police car and provide a more powerful alternative to regular bicycles that Toledo police already use for patrols, he said.

The mayor also touted the gas-saving benefits of using motorcycles for policing.

“As a city that is trying to come out of this recession in a positive way, we’ve got to look at more ways to get our police to where they need to be in a very cost-effective way,” the mayor said.

Councilman D. Michael Collins, however, slammed the proposal to buy motorcycles as a waste of money. He said the grant funds would be put to better use by spending them on other police equipment the department wants to buy this year such as vans and security cameras — which, under the 2012 proposed budget would require dipping into the capital improvements fund for $504,000. The capital improvements fund is normally reserved for spending on infrastructure projects.

“There’s needs and wants, and while you may want to have motorcycles at this point, you don’t need them because you don’t have the personnel to answer calls,” Mr. Collins stated.

The department currently has 545 sworn officers, down from 686 in 2004, according to an annual report. Although 40 recruits are expected to graduate in May, the department had a record-breaking 59 retirements in 2011 and an additional 50 officers are expected to retire this year. Another police class is planned, but not until December.

Mayor Bell said motorcycles are simply another “tool” for police and have no bearing on staffing levels. He pointed to other major cities in Ohio that have motorcycle fleets.

“In other major cities, this concept has been utilized, and utilized very well,” the mayor said. “This is not a new concept in the police department; it’s just a new concept for Councilman Collins.”

The cities of Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and Akron all have motorcycle units. Except for Dayton and Cincinnati, the cities use motorcycles for traffic enforcement and not for general calls for service. Cincinnati police will cease using motorcycles for service calls this spring.

Columbus police department spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner, said the motorcycles are great for traffic, but the city doesn’t consider them effective for general policing because they can’t be used to transport people during arrests.

“If you think about it, if you all of a sudden have to make an arrest and you have to call for another unit, you’re tying them up as well,” he said.

Toledo also has a lower ratio of police to residents than other large metropolitan areas in the state, Mr. Collins indicated. Toledo has 1.87 officers per 1,000 inhabitants. Columbus has 2.4 and Cleveland has 3.92.

In addition to losing its motorcycles at the end of 2004, Toledo lost its mounted patrol unit in 2009 and no longer runs mountain-bike patrols at night, both as a result of financial problems.

Other city councilmen expressed support for the Harley-Davidson plans.

Finance committee chairman George Sarantou said he’s talked to many people in the police department, and all spoke favorably of the plan.

“This is just another effective tool that the police will have in law enforcement and, in particular, in meeting the challenges at this time in the city of Toledo,” he said. “Prior chief [Mike] Navarre as well as Chief Diggs both have strongly recommended this. And under Ohio law, the chief of police is the highest authority in determining how the department is to be administered.”

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett at: cbarrett@theblade.com or 419-724-6272.