A conversation with a few of Seattle's finest

September 7, 9:47 AMBicycle Transportation ExaminerAdam Voiland

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When I touched down in Seattle last week for vacation, I had an immediate reminder that the Emerald City is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the nation. To my surprise, there were two port of Seattle police officers cruising down the middle of the concourse. 

I found it rather curious to see officers patrolling the interior of an airport via bike, so I started taking pictures. The officers, far friendlier than most I've interacted with in DC, noticed me and ended up inviting me to join them in Starbucks, where they were stopping for a break. Below are my notes from an impromptu interview with Sergeant Jeff Hoyne and Officer Darin Beam, both of whom are members of the Port of Seattle Police Bike Team.  

How did you become a bicycling police officer? Did you volunteer or were you assigned?
It's different for every area. For us, we are simply hired as patrol officer. Then, if we're interested, we have the opportunity to sign up for a specialized bike team. There was an opening on the bike team, so I went for it. Recently, I've taken over as the supervisor.

How does being a bike cop compare to being a regular cop?
Well, it's a lot more fun.  We have a ball. And it keeps us in pretty good shape. Getting on a bike is what I want to do when I'm not on work anyway.

Does patrolling on a bicycle affect the way that you approach your job?
Sure, it does. On a bike we cover five times the area that we would otherwise. We have three miles worth of terminals, lots of waterfront, and plenty of concourses to cruise through on our patrol. You see and talk to a lot more people this way than we would in a car.

Do you commute to work by bike as well?
No, not usually. It's a long day. We work 12 hour shifts, and I live 36 miles away, so I don't typically commute.

As a police officer who also rides you're probably quite familiar with the occasional tensions that flare up between cyclists and motorists. Do you have a piece of advice that might help the two groups negotiate the shared spaces on roads more enjoyably and safely?
The number one thing I'd say is to be reasonable. There's a certain anonymity about being in a car that causes people to get extraordinarily angry. Just stop and ask yourself, do I really need to get that angry if a cyclist is riding slightly outside of a bike lane? Do I really need to get angry about a tiny inconvenience? It's usually not worth it. There's an unfortunate sense of ownership of the road among drivers.

Very true.
On the flip side, there are certain areas on patrol where the cyclists take risks that they really shouldn't--running red lights, not wearing helmets or lights at night, for example. Things are always going to happen, but we've all got to try tend to take things less personally, and both groups need to be more reasonable and use common sense.

What do you think of the Idaho stop law?
I think it's a great idea. I'm a big proponent of that. Course, you have to be smart about it. Sometimes we see cyclists swerving around trucks and running red lights at busy intersections. Not every intersection or stop signs can be a safe yield.

When you're riding do you ever have trouble with aggressive drivers?
Oh, sure. All the time when I'm off duty. I've had people throw stuff at me, yell at me, swear at me.

Throw what sort of stuff?
Well, I had a guy throw a full water bottle at me once.

Are we doing enough to create appropriate infrastructure for cyclists?
Infrastructure is hugely important. When I'm out riding, sometimes I do hit patches where it's just not safe to be out. It's always good to see new bike paths going in, though I will say that sometimes it's the multi-use paths that are the places where we need bike patrols the most.

Last question. What kind of bike do you ride?
At work, I use a standard issue Trek police bike. I also have a 2007 Felt RXS Pro mountain bike and a carbon Cannondale road bike.

Note: I didn't have my tape recorder at the time, so the above is a reconstruction of the conversation, not an exact transcript. Sergeant Hoyne did the majority of the talking.