Bike patrol pounds downtown beat

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Picture a police chase through downtown streets – minus the typical sirens and blue lights.

Now imagine legs pumping fiercely on a Cannondale mountain bike in pursuit of a suspect – the bike jumping curbs, riding down steps and zipping along city sidewalks.

It’s a sight that may be common in large metropolitan areas, but it’s also happening in Bangor. The Bangor Police Department’s bike patrol, a unit that has been around since 1992, recently has gained recognition for the bicycle officers’ ability to respond quickly and go where cruisers cannot.

“People didn’t know what to think of us at first,” Sgt. Ed Potter, the bike division’s commanding officer since 1998, said recently. “But they’re starting to get used to it.”

Eight riders sharing six mountain bikes make up Bangor’s bike contingent. The officers patrol downtown from late May through August. From 4-8 p.m., a single rider cruises, and from 8 p.m.-2 a.m., two riders patrol.

As for the high-speed bike chases, that might be a stretch. Most evenings, it’s not so glamorous.

A typical shift for the bike patrol involves dealing with youths congregating in Pickering Square or smoking marijuana behind dark buildings. Sometimes the officers break up the occasional bar fight or check to make sure downtown doors are locked after hours.

The biggest challenge seems to be handling the city’s vagrants, who often are found drinking or sleeping on public benches, presumably because they can’t find a better place.

“We know a lot of people [downtown] by first name,” Potter said. “That’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Whether it’s a cosmetic nuisance or an ongoing problem, Bangor’s underbelly is at the heart of bike detail.

The nighttime foot traffic in the downtown area can be seedy, drunken and sometimes belligerent, leading to incidentsnot always fully visible from the padded seat of a police cruiser.

The bikers are always on the course, so to speak, when they patrol downtown. Potter said it’s not about how many arrests are made – it’s about what the bikers prevent.

“If we cause apprehension, we’re doing something right,” he said.

Thursday, July 22, 8:30 p.m. Officers Kerry Libby and Eric Tourtelotte left the police station on Court Street and headed for downtown. The sun hadn’t set, but both turned on handlebar lights and blinking blue reflectors on the backs of their seats. “It’s a nice change of pace from cruiser patrol,” Tourtelotte said and then smiled. “It’s easier to sneak up on people.”

Libby and Tourtelotte, both two-year police veterans in Bangor, recently finished a one-week training course in Brunswick through the International Police Mountain Bike Association.

The officers were taught the basics of bike safety, emergency maneuvering and dismounting techniques, how to navigate stairs, curbs and other obstacles, and how to ride effectively in heavy traffic.

Their uniform – a short-sleeved polo shirt, compression shorts, special shoes and an aerodynamic helmet – is a little sleeker than the standard police get-up. Libby said everything else is pretty much the same, but “it gets pretty hot underneath a Kevlar vest.”

9 p.m. The officers camped out at the intersection of State and Main streets. Tourtelotte stopped a skateboarder riding in traffic and told him to “take it somewhere else.” Libby hid partially behind a streetlight post – waiting.

“A lot of [bike patrol] is sitting and running traffic,” Libby said, referring to checking for valid inspection stickers and proper registration. “It can get a little boring, so that’s when we go looking for things.”

9:30 p.m. With that, the officers left, pedaling effortlessly toward Pickering Square. Tourtelotte stopped for a minute to check on a haggard-looking homeless man sleeping on a bench.

“Are you OK, Earl?”

“Yeah, I’m all right.”

“Are you going to sleep here all night?”

“Is that OK?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were breathing.”

10 p.m. Libby and Tourtelotte biked back to the police station to rehydrate – although they didn’t look like they needed it – and catch up on paperwork. Both agreed it had been a slow night.

“It’s been like this all summer,” Libby said. “There’s just nobody out downtown.”

Bike officers did a detail during the Fourth of July parade and will patrol all three days of the National Folk Festival. The bike unit will roll on in Bangor until Labor Day weekend, Potter said, and then the bikes will be put away until next year. The riders know it’s not the most glamorous detail, but they ride because they want to.

“We choose [bike officers] on interest; otherwise it’s a waste of time,” Potter said.

Since funding for the bike patrol comes primarily from grants and donations from downtown merchant associations, its future isn’t guaranteed, Potter said. Luckily, the overhead is low.

“It’s not a critical unit,” he said. “If we need more coverage, we don’t hesitate to pull officers off bike patrol.

“We’re getting to the point where we’re fairly well outfitted. A lot of people like what we’re doing.”

For the month of June, which Potter called a slow month, the bike patrol made 75 total stops and issued 22 summonses. As long as the bikes hold out and officers want to ride, it will be a “proactive patrol,” he said.

Friday, July 23, 4 p.m. Libby returned to bike detail – alone until 8 p.m. when another officer would join her. The sun glistened off her forehead and Libby hadn’t even started riding yet.

“It’s going to be hot again today,” she said.

4:15 p.m. The officer stopped in front of Sweet’s Market on Main Street and talked to Earl, the homeless man from the night before. The market had called to complain that a man was sleeping on the sidewalk in front of the store.

“Am I doing something wrong?” he asked when Libby arrived.

She told him not to sleep on sidewalks in front of businesses and rode away shaking her head.

“I’m sure I’ll be dealing with him again tonight,” she said.

4:30 p.m. Libby biked down to Pickering Square and approached Bob, another of the downtown “regulars.” Several people had called in complaints that he was intoxicated and harassing people. Libby talked briefly with the shirtless and visibly drunk man, who then walked away, dejected.

“I gave him a criminal trespass warning and a disorderly conduct warning,” she said. “I told him not to come back for 24 hours or he would go to jail.”

4:45 p.m. Libby circled back toward Pickering Square and noticed Bob again. She watched as he continued to harass people getting on and off the buses and decided she’d seen enough. Libby radioed for a cruiser, and within seconds Bangor Detective Erik Tall was there to take Bob away.

The problem with sending these “regulars” to prison is that Penobscot County Jail is already overcrowded, Libby said.

When the time comes to turn people away, transients are the first to go.

5 p.m. The officer made her way to the walkway that connects State and Main, a popular hangout for local drunks, she said. On this particular day, she found four, drinking amber liquid out of brown paper bags.

“OK guys, let’s pack it up right now,” Libby said.

“We’re not bothering nobody,” one of the men replied.

“You know you can’t drink on public benches, so at least take it somewhere where I can’t see it,” she said.

Libby set her bike down gently and stood with her arms crossed. Three of the four had left, but one wasn’t moving fast enough.

“Come on, Ron, I already know what’s in the bag,” she said as Ron tried to hide his alcohol.

Libby called for an ambulance to take Ron to Eastern Maine Medical Center’s detoxification unit.

5:15 p.m.: Libby rode down to the train tracks behind Penobscot Plaza where a small group congregated in a wooded area near the Penobscot River. One regular who calls the space home, complete with an empty wooden frame hanging between two trees, was entertaining guests.

“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Libby said to the resident, one of the “nice” drunks in town.

“I even have a picture window,” he replied.

Libby told one man, Mark, who she said was a belligerent drunk who’s always losing his pants and getting into fights with the officers, to move on.

“I think you need a belt, Mark,” she said, as he hoisted his pants and walked away.

“I’m sure I’ll see him again later,” she predicted.

5:30 p.m. Libby returned to the station for a break and to fill out more paperwork on all the regulars. Her shift was just beginning. She would be on bike patrol until 2 a.m.

“It’s going to be a busy night,” she said.