Mayor of Wilkes-Barre Announces New Recon E-Bike Patrol
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE CO. (WOLF) — “I am excited to announce we will be creating a bike patrol division,” says Mayor George C. Brown of Wilkes-Barre.
Mayor Brown, community leaders, and the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department unveiled six new additions to aid their streets today.
The E-Bikes are equipped with bells and whistles, like flashing lights, sirens, and motor-assisted pedaling.
“It is just a regular cop with a bike as another tool for them,” says Sgt. Jamie Sheridan.
Sergent Jamie Sheridan oversees the division for the city. He explains the main goal of Community Policing is outreach.
“Community Policing is officer-centered. Each officer can do their community policing. It is about building relationships and trust,” Sheridan explained.
According to the Mayor, the six e-bikes cost around $4,000 apiece. To save the city money, Mayor Brown reached out to the Luzerne Foundation and the Diamond City Partnership.
“I commend them for trying to change the narrative and get out in the community to work with people and take away the barrier of the car,” says David Pedri, President and CEO of the Luzerne Foundation.
Dave Pedri, President and CEO of the Luzerne Foundation, and Larry Newman, Executive Director of Diamond City Partnership each agreed to buy three bikes for the city.
“It is natural for a dense, mixed-use, downtown such as the one we have here in downtown Wilkes-Barre,” Larry Newman, Executive Director of the Diamond City Partnership says.
Before any officers can take a ride around the city, they need to go through training. Chief Joseph Coffey says Recon Police Power Bikes, a company based in Indiana, will travel to Wilkes-Barre to train the officers.
“They’re willing to come up here, where we don’t have to have to send our officers to Harrisburg or out of state. They’re going to come here and do the training here,” says Chief Joseph Coffey.
Once officers are fully trained, residents and visitors of the city will see the bikes in action.