Bike Police Back On City Streets Officers Patrol Downtown With A Mission: To Swerve And Protect

Sweat beads across Tom Lee’s forehead. A bulletproof vest is wrapped around his chest, blocking air from drifting through the bicyclist’s white cotton shirt.

The Spokane police officer pedals around downtown eight hours a day, inhaling exhaust fumes from the cars, buses and trucks he swerves around. His muscles are sore, his legs tired. Grease from his mountain bike smears his legs. His hands are calloused and dirty.

“I love this job,” Lee says, grinning behind dark sunglasses. “Can you believe I get paid to do this?”

Lee and four other officers were assigned last week to the city’s summertime bike patrol, a group that will work downtown streets and alleys for the next four months.

They answer calls faster than patrol officers in cars because they move easily through downtown, darting between buildings or through parking lots to avoid traffic. They also are given more time to meet residents who live and work downtown and hear their concerns about safety or crime.

Team members were selected for the assignment from a list of nearly 30 officers who are trained for cop work on bicycles. All five had to pass special physical fitness tests.

“It wasn’t a piece of cake by any means,” says Brenda Curalli, the team’s only woman. She fiddles with her fender. “It’s a great assignment, but you have to work.”

Patrol members spent last week tuning up their 21-speed mountain bikes, cruising around to meet business owners and getting to know the once-dormant muscles they suddenly were using every day.

“They asked us if we wanted padded seats,” Lee says, pointing to a cushioned lining sewn into the rear of his blue shorts. “I said, ‘Do you have to ask?”’

He rides side-by-side down Howard Street with partner Larry Bowman, both wedged between a city bus and a rusted-out pickup. They use hand signals to turn, choosing their lanes of traffic quickly and carefully. If drivers are frustrated about sharing the road with badged bicyclists, they don’t show it.

“They’re usually patient once they see our uniforms and the police bags on the back,” says Lee, 42.

The partners pass the Dill Pickle maternity store, where two women standing outside wave. They ride along West First Avenue, where an apartment manager greets them on the corner. They dart down an alley and glide to the Parkade Plaza, where a group of teenagers in front of the Pay Less Drug Store sees them and drifts away.

“We just want people to be safe down here, and feel safe,” Bowman says, glancing at the teens as they head toward Riverfront Park. “We want to find the problems before they happen and get out of control.”

In past summers, different officers were assigned to the bike patrol each day, making it more difficult for store owners and downtown residents to connect with the unit, Officer Rick Albin said.

This year, more than 400 downtown businesses were sent letters introducing the bike team. The businesses also were given a pager number to reach the patrol unit in a hurry.

The officers will ride through the area east of People’s Park in Peaceful Valley to Division, and north of Lewis and Clark High School to the north side of Riverfront Park.

“They’ll do everything regular officers do, including traffic stops,” says Albin, who oversees the bike unit. “They’ll be visible when they want to be, but they’ll go undercover and work the drug and gang problems too.”

Coasting down Washington Street, Lee tells Bowman to cut down an alley so they can check out a parking lot behind the El Toreador restaurant, a popular drinking spot.

As they steer around the corner, two men are stumbling toward the alley. One takes a swig from a bottle of peppermint Schnapps. It’s 2 p.m.

The officers hit their brakes and stop directly in front of the men before they are noticed.

“Spokane police, here, fellas,” says Bowman, 41, hopping off his bike. “You do know there’s no drinking allowed here in public, don’t you?”

“Whoa, man,” the blond-haired man says, putting his hand to his forehead. He steps back, sizing up the officers, and glances down the alley where they came from. “It’s like, here you ARE.”

Bowman dumps out the bottle of liquor and gets the men’s names. One has a warrant for obstructing and will have to go to jail. The officers tell the other man to leave. He hobbles down the alley, trying to safety-pin the crotch of his pants back together.

“Once we start hitting an area enough, this drinking outside, loitering thing usually stops,” Lee says, watching the man go. “It may seem like small stuff, and we’re not going to fix everything. But we are going to make things a little better down here.”