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JACK ENCARNACO
The Patriot Ledger





The Patriot Ledger

Rockland police officer Gregory Pigeon loves to ride, and his cost-conscious bosses love him for it.

He prefers to police the town on a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle rather than in a cruiser. He said it makes him more community-accessible - youngsters love the bike - and saves a lot of gas money at a time when high fuel costs are busting public-safety budgets.

"Everything we can do in a cruiser we can do on a bike," said Pigeon, a motorcycle enthusiast who owns a 1983 Harley. "I can get places faster."

The Rockland Police Department, which has two motorcycles and eight officers with the training to ride them, has saved on fuel by doing more of its patrolling on two wheels. Deputy Chief John Llewellyn said a cruiser typically gets about 10 miles to the gallon, while motorcycles get 40 to 50 miles per gallon.

"We have the motorcycle officers riding whenever possible," Llewellyn said. "The officers have been very cooperative with that. It's a tough time of year to ride."

In October of 2004, trying to stabilize the department's spending on fuel, Chief Kevin Donovan invited officers with the proper training to patrol on motorcycle. When fuel costs spiked last year, what had been optional was made mandatory.

"When we got into the gas crunch, the policy became that any qualified officer would ride a minimum of four hours per shift," Llewellyn said. "It went from strictly voluntary to, if they were working, they would ride."

The measure, coupled with assigning two officers to one cruiser, has significantly reduced fuel costs. The department pumped 20 percent less gas from October 2005 to January 2006 than it did from October 2004 to January 2005, for a savings of nearly $1,300 dollars, Llewellyn said.

"We're significantly below last year's gallons. However, the dollar figure isn't far off because the cost (of gas) has gone up," he said.

The police department's current budget allocates $48,800 for cruiser operation. That includes an average of $3,550 per month for fuel.

An officer who rides a motorcycle often needs to pay for his own speciality gear, as his $1,025 clothing allowance is roughly the amount needed for a basic uniform and equipment.

The police department plans to ask voters at the May 8 town meeting for money to buy new motorcycles with more safety features, like anti-lock brakes. The two motorcycles it has now would trade in for about $9,000 each, Pigeon said, and newer models would cost about $16,000.

Nasty weather and reckless drivers can make motorcycle patrolling a high-risk activity. Potholes, annoying to a car driver, are dangerous to a motorcyclist.

If you're on a motorcycle, a cigarette that someone casually flicked out a car window is a burning projectile.

A motorcycle is more likely to skid on ice, and, in the summer, a police officer patrolling on a bike has to sit near a hot engine for hours.

Llewelyn said officers are not required to ride when the temperature is below 40 degrees or above 90.

"The guys that are out there now like to ride. They love to ride," he said.

Gregory Pigeon is one of them. He returned to the bike even after a cable TV wire got snagged on one of his motorcycle's wheels last April, sending him flying to the ground.

Even though he was out six weeks with a shoulder injury, he wasn't interested in the secure enclosure of a cruiser when he returned.

These days, he patrols on a motorcycle even in 20-degree weather.

"As soon as I feel the roads are in safe enough conditions to ride, I'm out there," he said. Jack Encarnacao may be reached at jencarnacao@ledger.com.

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