Amarillo’s interim leadership command includes a policeman with a keen working knowledge of the city’s needs.
Accordingly, interim Police Chief Ed Drain has revealed a plan to bring back an element in the city ‘s policing strategy that I’m quite sure will be welcomed in the neighborhoods that need it.
Bicycle patrols are returning, Drain recently told the Rotary Club of Amarillo.
To which I say, “You go, chief!”
Drain is on loan from the Plano Police Department. He was brought in by interim City Manager Terry Childers to lead the Amarillo Police Department temporarily while the city looks for a permanent chief to succeed Robert Taylor, who recently retired and hit the road on his Harley.
Taylor suspended the bike patrols some years back, apparently believing the city could do just as good a job with cops in cars as they could with them on bikes.
The city, though, apparently had received numerous requests from constituents to return the bike patrols. They had been a staple in many neighborhoods, such as San Jacinto and North Heights.
They are part of the city’s community policing outreach, putting the officers in more direct contact with residents who get to know the officers more as men and women, rather than just simply as people carrying guns, cuffs and clubs.
Community police strategy seeks to build trust between police officers and residents, which — if you’re aware of what’s been in the news a good bit lately — has been lacking in many communities across the nation.
I am heartened to hear that Amarillo PD isĀ seeking to stay ahead of that potentially dangerous curve.