Pull over Ponch and Jon, there’s a new motorcycle cop patrolling the mean streets of Oxford.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department is in the process of adding a motorcycle patrol to the township’s substation.
Substation commander Lt. Al Whitefield said this new patrol is being provided to the community at no additional cost thanks to a special lease agreement between Harley-Davidson and the OCSD.
Since 2000, the department has leased new Harleys for $1 each. After one year of use, the bikes are returned and replaced with brand new ones.
Deputy Jeff Gerds, who’s worked out of the substation since October 2002, is training to become the newest member of the sheriff’s department’s Motorcycle Traffic Unit..
Gerds, a 17-year veteran of the department, said he will undergo two weeks (a total of 80 hours) of ‘intensive training? beginning in mid-May.
Right now he’s traveling county roads with a veteran member of the unit, familiarizing himself with what will be his Harley.
Once his training is complete, Gerds is contracted to patrol the township exclusively, except when his services are required for special events or motorcades.
Whitefield said Gerds will primarily do traffic enforcement on subdivision streets and township roads when weather permits.
The lieutenant said the new motorcycle unit will help catch traffic violators because of its stealthy properties, whereas a patrol car is ‘too visible.?
‘You can conceal a motorcycle a lot better than a (patrol) car,? Whitefield said. ‘Instead of parking on the street in these subdivisions, he can just sit in a driveway with a radar gun.?
Whitefield noted that two motorcycle patrol units are based at the Orion Township substation on Joslyn Road.
Gerds said the motorcycle also offers him the ability to go places that patrol cars can’t, such as the trails behind Oxford High School.
‘I can go just about anywhere with this,? he said noting that his training includes both road and off-road driving.
The deputy said if a suspect takes off on foot into an area where a patrol can’t go, he can ride after him as opposed running.
‘I can get (a suspect) a lot quicker on this than on foot,? he said.