Kendall County Deputies Add Bicycles to Patrol Duty

Instead of just patrolling the streets in squad cars, deputies with the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office will now be adding bicycles to help them fight crime.

The Bicycle Patrol Unit will be used for regular patrol duty, traffic enforcement, parking control, and special events. The use of a patrol bicycle will allow deputies to become more mobile and visible to the community.

Bicycle Patrol Unit Deputies John Collins, Pamela Krantz-Lee, Richard Pearson, and Christopher Phillips each completed a 32 hour Police Cyclist Class, which is nationally certified through the International Police Mountain Bike Association. During the class, deputies learned how to safely handle their bikes while in traffic and how to use the bicycle when making traffic stops, citizen contacts, and suspect contacts. Deputies qualified with their duty firearm while wearing bicycle safety equipment including helmets and riding gloves.

“The creation of the Bicycle Patrol Unit enhances patrol efforts in our community. Bicycle patrol has been shown to be an effective way to increase deputy visibility in congested areas and their quiet operation can provide a tactical approach to crimes in progress. I commend and extend special thanks to Deputies Collins, Krantz-Lee, Pearson, and Phillips for taking the initiative in starting up the unit,” said Sheriff Dwight A. Baird.

Photo: From left, Sheriff Dwight A. Baird, Deputy Pamela Krantz-Lee, Deputy John Collins, Deputy Richard Pearson and Deputy Christopher Phillips.