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SV trains officer to patrol on bike
 Scotts Valley police officer Patrick Kennedy takes a call. He is the city’s only bicycle cop. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press Banner
Kennedy brought up the idea of patrolling Scotts Valley parks and shopping centers by bicycle at a staff meeting on a Friday. By the next Monday, Kennedy was riding the hills of San Francisco training for the part.
“It was fun, but it was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life,” Kennedy said. The weeklong course took him on lengthy rides from Dublin to San Francisco and back, while spending the day in the city learning various bicycle techniques.
At one point, Kennedy took a tumble over the handlebars, scraping his knee to avoid crashing into a woman who apparently didn’t see him riding down a flight of stairs.
“It was either me hit her or me hit the ground,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy is not a full-time bicycle officer, but rather an officer who can utilize a bicycle in his regular patrols.
 Scotts Valley police officer Patrick Kennedy rides his 20-year-old Raleigh departmental bicycle. Lucjan Szewczyk/Press Banner
“It’s much easier talking to people on the bike,” said Kennedy, who likes being able to come up right next to someone, tap them on the shoulder and chat with them.
He said, for example, that kids at the Skypark skate park often scatter when they see a police cruiser pull into the parking lot. By bicycle, he says he can ride up to the park without being seen and nab kids who aren’t wearing their helmets.
Kennedy patrols areas in parks and shopping centers that are not easily accessible with a car.
“The class was worth it,” Kennedy said. “I learned more in 40 hours than I ever knew you could do with a bike.”
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