Motorcycle LEO

This is the fourth article I have read about this happening during this election. Twice with Hilary and once with Barry. You motorcycle LEO's please be careful out there.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis police officer in the motorcade escorting Sarah Palin to the airport has been injured in an accident.
The incident occurred Friday morning near the airport. The officer's name was not released. Police say the injuries are not life-threatening.

Police spokeswoman Erica Van Ross says the officer was on a motorcycle when it struck another officer's motorcycle. The second officer was not hurt. The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

The officer hurt his back, leg and waist.

Palin was in St. Louis for the vice presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden on Thursday.

Kelly

In St Louis today, I rode past someones motorcade..

They were going south I-270, I was going north.

There's always traffic at this time, and wrecks. I was surprised that with the southbound lanes clear, they left all this junk (headlights, glass, broken grill parts) from an earlier wreck right in their own path.

I only saw 2 LEO's on motorcycles.. and about 50 St Louis County cars.

/PUI

I think every police agency in the area had some officers assigned to the STL motorcades. I saw mostly Missouri HP. The STL MC officers ride HDs, and from what I read they were at the end of their run, and the last bike in line didn't stop and ran into the stopped officer in front of him.

LTOwner said:

I think every police agency in the area had some officers assigned to the STL motorcades. I saw mostly Missouri HP. The STL MC officers ride HDs, and from what I read they were at the end of their run, and the last bike in line didn't stop and ran into the stopped officer in front of him.

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It is good that the LEO is going to be okay.
Now the LEO at the end of the line will face the razzing from his fellow LEO's for not looking ahead. Poor guy will never live that one down.
A few years ago. I was driving our fire engine down the highway coming back from a 4th of July parade. I called dispatch and stated that engine 9 was back in quarters. The dispatcher stated that I need to check and see if I have all my hose.
I looked in the hosebed only to find it empty. I did a 1500 foot speedlay of 5 in. diameter hose in the middle of the highway. I returned back to where I left the hose and added more insult too injury. I backed the engine into a row of mailboxes and wiped the whole row out . That was a bad day. The guy's have never let me live that one down.

Pat Carol

When I was young - I used to drive one of the black Suburbans behind the armored limo. I was not used to working with motor units - and I found that some were much better than others.

We had a small package out in LA one time. The secure package consisted of a marked police lead car, armored limo, black Suburban follow-up car, straphanger (staff) limo, CAT Car (black Suburban Counter-Assault Team) and marked police tail. Because we were in several jurisdictions, we had our choice of working with local or state and we took the CHP package from the state - marked lead and tail CHP cars, CHP CAT Car (they called it an IRT car, I think), CHP air unit, and six CHP motors.

The six CHP motors worked incredibly well together - I have never seen a better group out in a practical situation. With just six motor units, they completely blocked the 405 at rush hour North over the Sepulveda Pass so we could attend a function at some big synagogue up overlooking the valley. None of these CHP officers were young, but man were they experienced and did they ever have some brass balls.

In direct contrast was a major city in the American South that will remain nameless - but it is a major city in the deep South. I came right off the aircraft with our Principal (protectee) and jumped into the waiting follow-up car. As we came out of the airport I swung the Suburban out to block traffic on the attack side of the limousine and to my horror I almost took out a PD local motor officer who was rabbiting up from the rear of the motorcade to the front. Nobody had bothered to tell me we were working with motors that day - and for some reason these guys just did not seem tight at al - I spent more time protecting them than I did on the Principal.

Anyway - it's rough duty. It's not for everyone and really, unless you are in a special unit that works together and does it all the time, it is extremely dangerous. In NYC we never used motor units, we used marked NYPD Highway "muscle cars" and they did a fine job, even ou t on the crowded Van Wyck coming in to the city from JFK.

Glad the officer is okay in the most recent incident. I think the use of motor unit in these motorcades should be more closely scrutinized and less frequently used. YMMV

Presidential escorts are some of the most hazardous things you can do as a Motor. It takes careful coordination betwen the escort lead and cage liason. In tight quarters like city streets a bike is the best way to deal with an escort as there isn't always room to move cars around the motorcade.