Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have a new weapon to fight crime in Charlotte... Dirt bikes! Today, Photojournalist Jonathan Jones met with Officer J. Green, the officer in charge of the new unit. Thanks to Jonathan for bringing us this information and photos of the new machines.
Officer Green told Jones the unit was started after he was unable to capture a suspect in a chase. Officer Green, of the Eastway Division, remembers telling his supervisor, "I could have caught him if I had a dirt bike!" An avid rider himself, Officer Green was the ideal person to head up the new program.
Green said the motorbikes will be used to target areas with open air drug sales and armed robberies. According to Officer Green, the bikes are a "stealthy" approach and this makes them a great crime fighting tool. He said, "You can pull right behind them and they don't even know your there... they turn around and say your a cop!"
The dirt bikes will be used in Charlotte's urban areas to help police catch suspects who attempt to elude police on foot. The bikes go off-road and anywhere a runner can... in the woods, behind apartments, etc. At this time, the Eastway division is the only division with the Suzuki dirt bikes.
Officer Green told Jones the unit was started after he was unable to capture a suspect in a chase. Officer Green, of the Eastway Division, remembers telling his supervisor, "I could have caught him if I had a dirt bike!" An avid rider himself, Officer Green was the ideal person to head up the new program.
Green said the motorbikes will be used to target areas with open air drug sales and armed robberies. According to Officer Green, the bikes are a "stealthy" approach and this makes them a great crime fighting tool. He said, "You can pull right behind them and they don't even know your there... they turn around and say your a cop!"
The dirt bikes will be used in Charlotte's urban areas to help police catch suspects who attempt to elude police on foot. The bikes go off-road and anywhere a runner can... in the woods, behind apartments, etc. At this time, the Eastway division is the only division with the Suzuki dirt bikes.
CMPD has two other bike divisions: The Bicycle patrol unit which focuses on the uptown area and the HITS unit, who use BMW motorcycles. The motorcycles will help catch criminals on the street and the dirt bikes will catch them off-road. Police departments across the nation are starting to use dirt bikes to catch criminals. CMPD is the first department to use them in this area. Watch out Criminals!!!