EAST MANATEE EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL & STATE; Pg. 7C

BRADENTON POLICE TRAFFIC UNIT GETTING BACK ON TWO WHEELS

Don't be fooled by the glistening chrome or roar of their engines; these bikes mean business.

The pair of Harley-Davison 2002 Road King motorcycles are the newest crime-fighting tools at the Bradenton Police Department. The department spent $33,000 on the motorcycles and equipment for the officers who will ride them using forfeiture funds, according to police spokesman Maj. J.J. Lewis. Forfeiture funds are court-ordered and collected from people convicted of crimes. "It's been over 20 years since we've had police motorcycles," Lewis said. "They were phased out at the discretion of the administration at the time. This offers the traffic officer a certain amount of maneuverability."

The motorcycles are just one way Chief Al Hogle plans to improve the agency's traffic unit in response to residents' requests.

"We get requests on a daily basis for traffic enforcement in residential neighborhoods," Hogle said.

"In areas like a one-way street like Manatee Avenue, you can park it off to the side where you couldn't park a patrol car," Hogle said. "It's much more mobile."

Sgt. Chris Didas and another officer will go through training with a state-certified instructor to learn how to best utilize the bikes. The officers who ride the motorcycles will eventually wear white uniform shirts to help them keep cool in hot weather.

"I have a bike of my own at home," Didas said. "I'm really looking forward to it."

From January 2001 through Monday, Bradenton's traffic unit had issued 4,965 citations, excluding citations issued and charges filed as a result of traffic crash investigations, Lewis said. The department investigates an average of 250 to 300 traffic crashes each month.

The traffic unit has three officers, but Lewis said the chief's plans include expansion. The agency's boat is being assigned to the traffic unit, Lewis said.

"We want to increase the number of officers in that unit as the department grows," Lewis said.

The unit is also testing out some new equipment inside its patrol cars, including a hand-held machine that prints out traffic citations.

Officers are also learning how to work with the Virtual Partner Program -- a computer software program that gives officers information verbally so they don't have to take their eyes off a vehicle to read information on a screen as they must now do.

"The bikes are nothing new, but after so many years they're making a comeback," Lewis said.

The Palmetto Police Department has a pair of motorcycles and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office also has motorcycles in its fleet of vehicles.