UMATILLA - Police here are hoping to get back on their bikes in the next few months.
Chief Darla Huxel said two police bicycles have been collecting dust and that she would like to see them back in action.
"Nobody expects a police officer to ride up on a bike," Huxel said. "We could probably get into an area without being noticed."
Huxel and other officers have used the bikes before for patrol and security at sporting events, she said. But the bikes haven't been used since the force has been one officer short.
Huxel said the city has five patrol officers and she hopes to add another one by March.
"The problem is you can't patrol a city on a bike if you are the only officer on," she said.
Huxel would like to have one officer in a car patrol and one on a bike.
The police patrol area is about eight miles from one end to the other, so response time could be an issue, city officials said.
"That limits the use" of bikes, City Manager Larry Clucas said. "But there are still some good uses for them."
Huxel said officers on bikes are less intimidating than officers in a squad car.
Clucas agreed.
"It's like the guys on horses in New York City, it makes them approachable," he said.
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