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Cop puts his mettle to pedals on patrol
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Sgt. Ken Goist of the New Middletown Police Department is the only member of the bike patrol.
By Denise Dick
Community donations were used to buy the bike.
NEW MIDDLETOWN — Sometimes, two wheels are better than four.
That’s why when weather permits and there’s a need, village police Sgt. Ken Goist opts for a bicycle instead of his cruiser.
“You can be as visible or as invisible as you want to be,” Goist said.
A bicycle can access places a car can’t, Goist said, such as alleyways and cut-throughs. That enables the sergeant to go into stealth mode in pursuit of a suspect or to arrive at some calls more quickly than a cruiser.
Chief Vincent D’Egidio believes a bike patrol is an asset to the department.
“It gives us the ability to be unseen so we can do more effective preventions,” he said.
The bike is particularly helpful while patrolling the village park or a shopping plaza. It’s also useful when trying to curb juvenile vandalism in a neighborhood.
“They can see a cruiser,” D’Egidio said. “But they don’t know when an officer is on a bike. We have an advantage at that point.”
Goist started riding a police bike while an officer in the mid-1990s in Lowellville. When he came to New Middletown in 1998, that village’s police department was part time with minimal funding.
The chief at the time was interested in putting officers on bicycles, and Goist initially volunteered to ride his own bike. The village was reluctant to spend money on a bike and its accessories without assurance that it would be useful and effective, Goist said.
“We wanted to see how the community would take to it,” he said.
The reaction was positive.
Being on a bicycle eliminates the barriers between an officer and the public present in a cruiser. The officer is more approachable, and people enjoy talking about the bike, Goist said, making it a good community-policing tool.
“Younger kids want you to do tricks, and the older kids want to race you,” Goist said, chuckling.
He emphasized, though, it’s a work bike. He doesn’t use it for tricks.
The public contributed $700 for the village to buy the bike, a Trek 7000, and Goist worked with Boardman Cycle Service to ensure it had the necessary equipment.
Adjustable handlebars are a must because, when wearing a bulletproof vest and a gun belt, an officer’s air flow is restricted when he leans forward on the bike. The adjustable handlebars can be maneuvered into an upward, more comfortable position.
Sometimes, the bicycle enables Goist to almost be two places at once. He’ll park his cruiser in one area, such as on a main drag, to discourage speeders, and use the bike someplace else.
There are obvious limitations. Goist can’t transport a suspect on his bike. But in those instances, he can call for another car or for mutual aid from a nearby department.
Biking on patrol isn’t for everyone. You have to be in shape not only to ride the bike but to be effective when you arrive on a call, the sergeant said.
He likes that it allows him to be closer to the public and to interact more with them.
“The police motto is ‘To protect and serve,’” he said. “I think it should be the other way around: to serve and protect. When you’re serving people, you are protecting them.”
denise_dick@vindy.com