Cedar Rapids police attribute arrests to bike patrols

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids police said three arrests this week were possible through an increase in bike patrols.

According to Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow, bike patrol officers were in the area of Second Street and 10th Avenue at 1:26 a.m. Thursday when they saw a subject on foot in the alley near the Parlor City Pub. The officers were around the block and saw the subject flee on foot. Police said they caught up to the subject and found two Glock pistol magazines and a jumper cable set on him.

After retracing the area where the subject - a 13-year-old - had been seen, police discovered a vehicle with its door open near Parlor City. Officers contacted the vehicle's owner and determined the teenager entered two vehicles, stealing the jumper cables and Glock magazines in the process.

The teenager was charged with third-degree burglary and curfew violation. He was released to a parent, Buelow said.

In a separate incident on Wednesday, bike patrol officers came across a stopped vehicle at First Avenue and 15th Street East around 12:25 a.m. Police said the officers saw a passenger get out of the vehicle and go into a liquor store. This prompted the officers to conduct field sobriety tests on the driver, 68-year-old Morrison Harris, which he failed. Harris was arrested and charged with third-offense drunken driving and driving while barred.

Police also arrested the passenger and registered owner of the vehicle, 56-year-old Anthony Alexander. Police said Alexander was also drunk and placed under arrest for public intoxication and allowing an unauthorized person to drive. During a search, officers found crack cocaine on Alexander, leading to an additional charge of possession of a controlled substance.

Buelow said the department has 42 officers on bike patrols spread across each shift. Each bike officer has to pass a 40-hour bike school in order to be certified as a certified police cyclist. Buelow noted that bike patrols offer a combination of being open and easily accessible to the public, while also having advantages in mobility and stealthiness.

'As departments have learned throughout the country, bike patrols are very effective in dealing with crimes that take place where police cars can't go or where they cannot go without being noticed,” he said.

Police Chief Wayne Jerman praised the usefulness of the department's bike patrol officers.

'The police department is committed to our neighborhoods and various means, including bicycle patrols, for engaging citizens, preventing crime and apprehending law violators,” Jerman said.