Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office certifies new bike officers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office just certified some new bike officers from Albuquerque police, and a few other agencies across the state.

KOB 4 stopped by a training session for a look at what skills they’ll take to the streets.

“Turns, crash avoidance, braking, acceleration, gear change in selection, turning, emergency turning,” said BCSO Sgt. Chris Starr with the Open Space Unit. 

Starr has been teaching this bike certification class for seven years.

“Everybody shows up here thinking, like, ‘I can ride a bike. How difficult can it be?’” said Starr. 

Weaving in and out of cones, and doing circles in a ten-foot box, isn’t easy.  

“It’s very important to come out here to master these cone patterns, so that officers can understand how to control the bike, and that makes it safer for them and safer for the public that they’re operating around,” said Starr. 

That includes Albuquerque police officer, Aaron Molina. He’s been a patrol officer for four years. Molina and his partner are about to make the switch to bike patrol in the International District.

“It’ll make us more stealthy. So a lot of people, when it comes to the drug crime in that area, won’t see us coming,” said Molina. 

He hopes to capitalize on recent efforts to clean up the Central corridor.

“It will definitely be a surprise to a lot of people on the street, but it’s definitely needed along that Central corridor area. So huge benefit,” Molina said. 

Beyond the criminal piece, there’s also the community aspect.

“The outreach with the community, being able to go to the businesses riding the bike will be a huge benefit as well,” said Molina. 

“It does have a really, really strong impact on the level of comfort people feel in utilizing those public spaces,” said Starr. 

Officers from Carlsbad and the State Forestry Division also got certified during this week’s class.