West Lafayette police deploy motorcycle unit

Sometimes two wheels are better than four, according to West Lafayette police Chief Jason Dombkowski.

Dombkowski on Tuesday introduced the department’s new traffic unit consisting of two officers and two BMW motorcycles equipped for police use.

“When Purdue University is in session, there is congestion near campus,” he said. “Throughout the city there are school zones, construction zones and neighborhood traffic issues.

“This tool will enable us to get into those areas.”

The traffic unit also will focus on problem intersections, such as Sagamore Parkway and Salisbury Street, which had 45 crashes last year, and 25 so far this year, the chief said.

With 30 miles of trails, and cars parked lining both sides of many city streets, the motorcycles will allow emergency responders to get where they’re needed, Mayor John Dennis said.

“This will provide more safety and security to areas that are difficult to get to,” he said.

The traffic unit was modeled on motorcycle patrol programs in two Big Ten cities, East Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan, Dombkowski said.

“It’s been effective in those towns,” he said. “We saw what works.

“We adapted and made sure we got the best traffic enforcement program we could in a city like ours.”

Sgt. Jason Philhower and Officer Marcus Slifer recently completed a two-week course designed to teach officers the nuances of motorcycle policing.

“It taught us what the bike is capable of, where you can put it and what you can do with it,” Philhower said.

The training was intense, Slifer said.

“In one exercise, we had to ride around a gate and make a 360-degree turn,” he said. “You have to do that while you’re working the clutch, the brake and the throttle at the same time.”

No tax dollars were spent to buy and equip the motorcycles, and train the officers, Dombkowski said.

Money from the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Office’s criminal forfeiture program paid for the $60,000 in equipment.

Weather will dictate when the bikes are on the road. But Dombkowski expects they’ll be out from March to November.

The motorcycle unit is a return to the department’s roots, the chief said.

Hanging in his office is a 1945 advertisement that pictures a West Lafayette officer sitting on a Harley-Davidson.

BMW motorcycles were chosen this time because they won top ratings in the 2014 annual Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation, the officers said.

Another project designed to make the department run more efficiently will take effect this week.

After a year of planning, West Lafayette radio dispatchers will complete the move to the Purdue University police dispatch center at 205 S. Martin Jischke Drive from the center in the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office at 2640 Duncan Rd.

Housing the dispatchers together will improve communication during major events and incidents, Dombkowski said.