Sanford police officer David Randt patrols parts of town by bicycle. Photo: Angelina Keizer
By Angelina Keizer
Officer David Randt often stops by Dairy Queen on his patrol route. He’s not there to grab a strawberry-dipped cone; instead, he gets some tokens that he can hand out to children as a reward for wearing their bike helmets.
Randt, a 7-year veteran of the Sanford Police Department, tries to be a model example of this, so he wears his helmet as he patrols his route on a bike.
“We started the bike patrol stuff, and it’s kind of just every summer. It’s been part of what I do,” Randt said.
Randt, who served 21 years in the U.S. Army before joining the police department, is the primary rider for Sanford’s bike patrol program. The program is designed as a community policing tool to increase officer visibility and interaction with residents.
“We’ve had bikes for at least 20 years, but there was a point in time when we didn’t really have anybody out on them, probably for the last 10 to 12 years,” said Police Chief Eric Small. “We decided a couple summers ago to get him out there.”
The bike allows Randt to access areas that patrol cars cannot, including the city’s trail system and parks. His patrol area is centered on downtown Sanford, extending to the high school and middle school, and includes trails near Number One Pond and the rail trail in Springvale.
The department has about five certified bike officers, but staffing shortages limit the program’s availability. Randt is able to ride frequently because his role in the mental health unit provides scheduling flexibility.
“Law enforcement right now, nationally, is facing shortages and staffing challenges. We’re not immune from that here,” said Small. “We have to fill the police cars first.”
The bike patrol operates during the summer months. Randt typically rides for 1 to 1.5 hours at a time, returns to the station to hydrate, then heads back out. He rotates through different parts of the city throughout the day. He said he regularly stops to interact with residents, including people fishing at Number One Pond and walkers on the trails. He also responds to calls and assists other officers when needed.
The ability to access varied terrain is a key advantage of bicycle patrols. “The importance of patrolling by bicycle instead of a car has many benefits,” said Thomas Zermeno, an instructor and board executive of the International Police Mountain Bike Association. “It provides the ability to access areas that a vehicle cannot traditionally access, to include both rural and urban areas.”
Randt loves it. “It’s a lot less gear,” he said of the bike compared to a cruiser. He carries a bag with essentials such as a notepad and first aid kit, along with all the gear strapped onto his vest. The bike does not have a GPS tracker, so Randt texts his location to his supervisor before patrolling less-trafficked areas for safety.
Officers assigned to bike patrol must complete a weeklong certification course through the International Police Mountain Bike Association. “IPMBA’s vision is the gold standard in public safety cycling by delivering collaborative, innovative, and continually evolving training,” Zermeno said.
The training covers road rules, advanced riding skills and officer safety tactics, including using the bicycle as a barrier during interactions.
“The training goes into different braking skills, different turning skills, up and downstairs, different ways to use the bike for your own safety,” Randt said.
“By patrolling on bicycle, you are able to hear and see things differently and with different advantages that you cannot from a vehicle,” said Zermeno. “It is an environmentally friendly mode of transportation, with costs being more focused on maintaining the bicycles. Additionally, there is a community focused factor in that the public safety cyclist is more approachable by the public.”
“I’ve gotten flagged down by random people, ‘Hey can I ask you a question?’,” said Randt. “I was like, ‘Hey, this is kind of cool.”
Chief Small said he has received positive feedback from residents about the bike patrol. “People send me emails or calls saying, ‘Hey, we saw a bike patrol officer. That’s awesome!” Small said.
Randt has acknowledged that some residents, particularly those with past negative experiences with law enforcement, are hesitant to engage with him. He said he tries to overcome that by treating everyone the same.
“Everybody deserves the same amount of respect,” Randt said. “If it’s a community member that’s walking their dog, or one of our people that we deal with every other day, they all deserve the same respect.”
He said his goal is to remain calm and approachable in all interactions. “You win every fight that you don’t get in,” Randt said. “If I’m calm and approachable, most people can get that sense from me, and they can calm down and can have a conversation.”
The department uses standard bicycles rather than electric models. Officer Randt said officers collectively preferred traditional bikes because they are lighter, easier to repair and better suited for the city’s local patrol area.
“We’re supported by the city financially to do it,” Small said. “It’s just a good program altogether.”
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