Badge on two wheels: Pennington county’s first bike officer

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

School resource officer Bobby Pennington is seen here with the bicycle he uses to patrol Warren County High School. Pennington recently became the county’s first certified bike patrol officer. (Will Stewart photo)

Nimble enough to dart through a congested parking lot, silent enough to retain the element of surprise, and less costly than a squad car, a bicycle has become the preferred mode of transportation for Warren County High School resource officer Bobby Pennington.

Last week, Pennington completed his police cyclist certification and became the county’s first bike patrol officer.

Pennington said he got the idea to use a bike about two years ago when he realized it would allow him to execute his job requirements much more efficiently than a car.

“With a bike, my response time has been greatly reduced,” said Pennington. “I can now be anywhere on campus, inside or out, within 45 seconds to a minute. Plus I can be more stealthy. I can creep up on people because they’re looking for a police car.”

Pennington said the bike has also served to make him more approachable to students.

“Cops sometimes seem standoffish, but on a bike people are more comfortable coming up and talking. It’s a community-minded approach that allows us to develop a better rapport with the people we’re serving,” he said, adding his bike patrols have received a very positive response from students.

To become a certified bike patrol officer, Pennington had to complete a 40-hour International Police Mountain Bike Association’s police cyclist course offered recently by the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in Donelson.

More than teaching him to simply ride a bike, the course – led by two Metro Nashville bike patrol officers – taught him an array of skills needed to ride safely in various conditions, as well as techniques designed to safely apprehend criminals. Course participants learned, among other things, to hop curbs, descend and ascend stairs, and perform emergency maneuvers designed to prevent crashes.

Pennington said the course was beneficial because, on average, he spends an estimated two and half hours on his bike, performing such duties as securing the school’s gates, patrolling the parking lot, checking parking passes, assisting with vehicle break-downs and crashes and apprehending trespassers and other law breakers. In all, he estimates he pedals around 10 miles per work day.

He noted that for all of his work done on bike, he still keeps a patrol car on campus in the event of an emergency or to take someone into custody.

In addition to his duties at the high school, Pennington said he will also incorporate his bike experience into the law enforcement Explorer group he leads, as well as to assist with bike rodeos and to educate the community about bicycle safety.