OFFICERS RELY ON PEDAL POWER: CAPE POLICE INSTITUTES BIKE PATROL

Cape Girardeau Patrolman Charlie Herbst likes to bicycle for recreation. But when Herbst climbed on a bicycle Saturday morning, there was work to be done.

And once Herbst raised his bike's kickstand, he rode in a new era of police protection in Cape Girardeau. He became the city's first bicycle patrolman.

Police Capt. Steve Strong said Herbst, who patrolled the Southeast Missouri State University Homecoming Parade route and its surrounding area Saturday, is one of eight officers to volunteer for a new city police bicycle patrol.

Patrol members will be used periodically, he said, depending on need and the weather. One officer said Saturday that city police had never used bicycles before for patrol purposes.

The patrol is part of a nationwide return to community policing where officers have closer contact with the public, said Strong.

"Years ago officers walked a beat. They were accessible to the public. They became very know~ledgeable of their areas. With the advent of the automobile and the radio, there was a move to put officers in cars and give them larger areas," he said.

"This makes them more accessible, but at the same time they are still very mobile and can cover a larger area."

The Cape Girardeau Police Department first looked at establishing the patrol in August, he said. The patrol will be used for events like the Southeast Missouri District Fair or the city's Riverfest celebration. It could be used also, Strong said, to patrol West Park Mall or Town Plaza, the city's downtown and Good Hope commercial areas, and commercial areas afflicted with burglaries.

Herbst patrolled the parade route Saturday on a mountain bike purchased for the department by the Cape Girardeau Veterans of Foreign Wars post. The mountain bike Herbst used is a red, 21-gear Schwinn.

While patrolling, Strong said, Herbst wore a bike helmet, lightweight police clothes and gear, and a T-shirt that identified him as being with the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Herbst said the Cape Girardeau American Legion Post donated the accessories.

Use of the bike allowed Herbst to get to areas more rapidly than a police car would have been able to, Strong said. Herbst was able to move from one trouble spot to another, he said.

Herbst said he came up with the idea for the patrol and then approached Police Chief Howard Boyd with it. A bicycler himself, Boyd was aware of similar patrols in other cities, he said.

"We just kind of got it going," Herbst said.

Patrol volunteer and city Patrolman K.W. Rinehart said he joined the patrol because he thinks a bike would be a good way to get around at the city's special events. Also, people don't expect to see an officer on a bicycle, he said.

"You have an element of surprise with a bike," he said.

The bicycle patrol of the parade Saturday turned out to be pretty effective, Herbst said.

"People were surprised when I came tooling down through there. But it worked pretty good because I was able to keep a lot of people out of the street, up on the curb."

He said he patrolled a lot of side streets, as well as the rears of businesses. Half the time, he said, he'd ride along the parade route. The other half of the time he'd patrol alleys, he said.

Herbst came up with what was believed Saturday to be the only arrest connected with the parade. Strong said Herbst arrested a man for indecent exposure in the rear of the 700 block of Broadway. Apparently the element of surprise figured in.

"The officer rode up on (the) bicycle," Strong said. "I don't think the individual expected to see an officer on a bicycle."

Herbst said he was in an alley after the parade when he saw the man, among some groups of people, urinating next to a vehicle. The man was charged in a summons Saturday with indecent exposure, he said.

As yet, the Cape Girardeau Police Department has only the one bike for the patrol. The department is looking to acquire three more, but the bikes must be donated, Strong said.

"We don't have the budget to purchase them. We're trying to get the bicycles and the necessary equipment for the officers through donations."

Herbst estimated the cost of the one bike and the related accessories at $600 to $650.