SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Police Department has added a couple of new vehicles to its fleet. Officers patrolling city parks and the bike path are breaking-in new electric bicycles.
Patrolling the Sioux Falls bike path is no walk in the park. It’s a ride through the park.
“There’s not many patrol jobs or police jobs that are this for your office. I don’t have a desk, other than this right here,” Sgt. Joel Dalton said.
Bike patrols have been a regular summertime police beat for years in Sioux Falls. Only this time, officers are now riding electric bikes.
“We’ve been riding about a month now. And they’re different from your regular bike,” Darin Martyna said.
The e-bike’s electric motor helps propel officers farther with less strain than a regular bike.
“With the pedal assist, or when you’re coming up to a hill, you feel like, you know what, I just don’t feel like struggling today. You can just knock it down and just gives you an extra push,” Martyna said.
The e-bikes are so new, the decals are still freshly applied. There’s also a period of adjustment for the officers.
“So far, it’s been a huge learning curve for us. Not only for the riders and how they operate the bicycles, but also just what the capabilities are,” Dalton said.
“The battery life on these, that’s probably the biggest adjustment is just understanding how long you can ride these bikes. The last thing you want to be is all the way across town and run out of juice,” Martyna said.
These e-bikes that the officers use have a lot of bells and whistles, and sirens as well. With so much hardware on board, these things are pretty heavy. They weigh up to eighty pounds so they’re pretty tough to lift.
“It’s a heavier-duty frame and for me, it’s not as balanced as a tiny, little bicycle as I’m used to. When I say tiny, my bike at home is probably 30 pounds compared to this,” Ryan Vallard said.
The officers can cover more ground on an e-bike and even though the motor helps with pedaling, it’s still a workout through the end of a shift, especially in the summer heat.
“The other day we rode consistently straight for five hours and then we took our first break, and you’re done, you’re drained,” Valland said.
The patrol officers tend to draw crowds along the bike path, especially kids.
“That’s what we’re there for. We’re not there to always enforce laws. We’re there to meet-and-greet, explain things, educate the public,” Martyna said.
Darin Martyna is an Edison Middle School resource officer who hits the bike trail while school’s out for the summer. He sees similarities between the two jobs.
“You’re dealing with some kids on the trails, but it’s a different manner in the schools. You’re there, educating as well as teaching kids, learning from mistakes, and out here, you’re kind of doing the same with adults,” Martyna said.
The officers are getting an education themselves, navigating the learning curve of e-bikes in a mode of transportation that’s a little off the beaten path.
Each electric bicycle costs $4,500. The police charge the bikes with specially-certified batteries that comply with safety standards. There have been cases around the countries of some e-bike batteries catching fire, often involving uncertified or used batteries.
