| April
2007 |
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The Legislative Issue Meaningful Penalties for Drivers Who Kill |
Making Way for Police Bikes When the Chicago Police Department received reports of a gunman opening fire in a Loop law office last year, it responded within minutes. Soon 18 officers were in the building, moving in on the gunman,
evacuating the building and diverting traffic around the building.
“Everything you would expect a police officer to do under those circumstances,” said Chicago Police Sgt. Joe Andruzzi, head of the Chicago bike unit stationed at Millennium Park. But what stood out was that all of these officers arrived on bicycle. Immune to the rush-hour gridlock, they arrived on the scene before any squad cars did. “They went through red lights. They went down one-way streets the wrong way. They zig-zagged through traffic — everything that a police car can do,” Andruzzi said. But under the current state law, these officers aren’t protected because bicycles are not classified as emergency vehicles. “I wouldn’t expect (officers) to stop at a red light when there is a man with gun shooting people. But if they go through that red light … and they cause an accident, now the liability is on us,” he said. Andruzzi is hoping to change that. Last month, he traveled to Springfield to testify on Senate Bill 639, which would formally classify police and fire department bicycles as emergency vehicles and would also allow them to be equipped with a siren. The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate. “It (would) legitimize us and our roles as police officers on bicycles,” said Off. Tom Walsh, who is part of the unit and also trains other officers for bike patrol. He also said the bill protects bicycle officers. “Right now, when we are out riding around, if somebody hits us, it’s just like hitting you or anybody else,” he said. “You’re just hitting a guy on a bike even though we are fully uniformed up (and) it says police on the bike. It doesn’t make a bit of difference.” The department has had a bicycle unit since 1992, but focused its efforts only part of the year and only on the Lakefront Trail. Today, the unit has 422 bikes, patrols year-round, trains 100 to 150 officers a year and is a part of the department’s overall crime strategy, Andruzzi said. When preparing to testify in Springfield, Andruzzi said he contacted 575 police departments statewide and found that 214 of them have bicycle patrols. “(The legislation) helps everybody,” he said, as the
law would apply to the entire state. He said California is the other
state to have similar legislation. All of Chicago’s 25 police districts are equipped with bicycles. It is up to each how they are distributed and used. “Some districts have foot beats and often (they) convert them into bike beats. The First District has done that,” Walsh said. He added that bicycles will continue to be a significant part of the department’s patrol efforts. From where a bicycle can go to its minimal costs, Walsh said, they play an important role.
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