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200 UNIT
by Richard Bennett
I don’t remember the date, but I remember the event. I was called to the Traffic Captain’s office and told that after three years in the Traffic Division I had been selected to be a Motorcycle Officer.
It was the spring of 1968, and I was a seven-year veteran of the San Diego Police Department, which had less than 1000 officers at the time. Lyndon Johnson was president, and America was heavily involved in the Viet Nam war. Draft cards were required to be in possession of U.S. males 18 to 25 years old, and civil unrest was common throughout America. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago was marred by protestors clashing with police, who were criticized by news media for over-reacting.
It was the year “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” premiered, and first class postage stamps went from five cents to six cents. Apollo 8 orbited the moon with three U.S. Astronauts on board and the minimum wage was set at $1.60 an hour.
Martin Luther King was assassinated by James Earl Ray in April, and in June Bobby Kennedy was shot in a crowded hotel lobby, dying the next day on my birthday.
With all those things happening in 1968, it is easy to understand why my selection to become a motorcycle officer would largely go unnoticed.
The San Diego Police Department had 20 motorcycle officers in 1968; down from the previous 40 in 1966.The down-sizing was the result of a motorcycle officer sustaining serious head injuries in a collision where his helmet came off. Reducing the size of the motor squad only made sense to the non-riders who made administrative staffing policy. There had been no new motorcycle officers selected between 1966 and 1968, so I was thrilled to be chosen.
At the time, San Diego had no formal motorcycle training program for Police Officers. Los Angeles had the most comprehensive training program, and many of the drills I learned came from L.A.P.D. If you want to see what L.A. was teaching at the time, find an old copy of the movie “Code 2”, made in 1953. In the film, three police recruits become friends in the Police Academy, then go on to become motorcycle officers. Keenan Wynn plays the old, grizzled Sergeant who shows the rookies how things are done. Great fun!
Police motorcycles in the United States were almost exclusively Harley Davidson 1200 FLH Electra Glides in 1968. If other brands existed, I was not aware of them. The S.D.P.D. motorcycle fleet consisted of assigned motorcycles and several “spare” motorcycles that were used for training and as loaners when an assigned bike was in for service. Spares were higher-mileage vehicles that were nearing retirement age, and were never cosmetically beautiful.
For my training, I was joined by a veteran Sergeant who was being assigned to “Motors”, and I was given a “spare” motorcycle for training sessions. While no previous riding experience was required, I had fortunately spent several years riding off road and commuting to work on my own motorcycles.
After an orientation of controls and starting drill, we were told to follow the “training officer” through downtown San Diego to the Zoo parking lot. I can’t imagine an inexperienced rider making the inaugural ride on the 800 pound Harley without a serious pucker factor, but that was part of the indoctrination.
We were required to do a series of drills, each getting more difficult than the one before. I remember the heft and bulk of the Harley as I muscled it through turns, circles and figure eights. The Harley was different than the BSA I was used to riding. The shifter was a “heel kicker” and was on a different side than my BSA, and the low riding Harley had foot boards that were constantly dragging when I leaned the bike over. The throttle did not have a spring return, and stayed where ever it was when I released it. It took some remapping of my subconscious to learn the subtleties of the Harley police bike.
In our training we did speed runs, panic stops and high-speed evasive maneuvers. Day after day, the cable-actuated clutch lever caused my left arm to ache with every shift, and the drum brakes required a heavy hand at the right grip. I never knew riding a motorcycle could be so physical.
After five days of parking lot training our progress was deemed suitable enough for the next level: “trailing” a veteran motor cop on patrol. For the first time I was assigned my own police motorcycle, a high-mileage 1965 Harley Davidson former “spare”, and told to report to work in my new Motorcycle Officer uniform.
I spent my week end cleaning and polishing the old bike, and then proudly “racked it up” next to veteran motor cops outside the briefing room. I was the newest and youngest Motorcycle Officer on the S.D.P.D. in 1968; a fact the “old timers” did not let me soon forget.
I had been fascinated by motorcycle officers since my first day on the job at S.D.P.D. Each day they would ride into the patio area of Headquarters, their motorcycles making a thunderous noise as they parked in formation. The Harleys had ride-off stands, which were center stands that held the bike upright until the rider moved forward. The ride-off stand would then fold under the motorcycle out of the way. Seeing over 20 police bikes parked handle bar to handle bar was always an impressive sight.
I would see motorcycle officers in the Coffee Shop as they laughed and told bawdy jokes, stories about pursuits and traffic stops. Some were hired exclusively as “Motorcycle Officers,” a fact that was prominently displayed on their badges. But most of the motor cops spent time in traffic cars, doing shift work, writing tickets and investigating collisions before being assigned to the motor squad. To my mind, if there was an “elite” group of uniformed officers within the Police Department, this was it.
For several days after my one-week training session I was assigned to follow different veteran motorcycle officers on patrol. I was shown how to position myself inconspicuously near an intersection and be ready for a quick pursuit of a traffic violator. We rode though heavy traffic and I learned how to split lanes and ride the police bike over raised islands and curbs. I mastered the technique of multi-tasking by operating a mechanical siren, a police radio and doing pursuit riding all at the same time. After a week of “trailing”, I was deemed to be ready for solo patrol; A “200” unit. Total training time: two weeks.
For the rest of my time as a motorcycle officer, I escorted dignitaries, responded to civil disturbances, disbursed crowds, wrote citations and directed traffic. I chased fleeing suspects, arrived at emergencies ahead of patrol cars, and dealt with the myriad of police issues which were making local headlines. With each assignment I was accepted a little more by the “veterans”, until I felt I was truly integrated into the Motor Squad.
I admit that I swaggered a little when I walked, and I felt special when I rode into the Headquarters patio, but I remember the impression it made on me when I was a younger officer and I considered it a recruitment ritual for the motor squad. That feeling never left until I was transferred to detectives.
After 16 years in other police assignments, I returned to the Motor Squad as the lieutenant in charge. Many things had changed during those years. My department had tried Moto Guzzi and Honda motorcycles before switching to Kawasaki 1000 police model motorcycles; and for a time we had a few Harley Davidson FXRP police bikes.
Police motorcycle training had been certified by the State, and officers came from all over Southern California to be trained in San Diego. When I returned to the unit, I was required to take a “refresher” course before getting a police motorcycle re-assigned to me. I also had to attend quarterly training with the motorcycle officers during my assignment.
Over 40 years have passed since that day in the Traffic Captain’s office. The motor officers who accepted me into the unit, and who worked side by side with me have all moved on. Many, like me, went on to detective assignments and promotions before retiring.
Of all the assignments I had in my police career, none were as fun and adventurous as being a motorcycle officer. It combined my hobby with my work, making it my all-time favorite job. I have the greatest respect for motorcycle officers everywhere, and I am grateful to have been one of them.
Of those old S.D.P.D. motorcycle cops who survive, we reminisce at retirement gatherings. And for anyone who visits the San Diego Police Historical Museum, I have stories…
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With students from Miramar 1971 Police Memorial 1987
 
SDPD Motor Squad 1968
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