What do your 2-wheel LEOs wear?

[dcarver]

OK...I will.
First and foremost it is appearances. Most police administrators are much more concerned with an officers appearance than with the protective side of M/C clothing. I think that most of that is because of ignorance. That's not a shot at my bosses. None of them are motor officers and do not truly understand the considerations that riders must think of.

Clothing (protective) for motor officers is non-existent. It is too small of a nitch for any of the law enforcement clothing manufacturers to dedicate any resources to. Most motor pants are actually mounted officer (i.e. horseback) pants as are the boots. They are purely for looks and offer very minimal protection. One piece of protection that motor officers do have available is their ballistic vest. It offers exceptional abrasion resistance in the event of a get off. They are very hot in the summer and add to the general discomfort of our clothing. Many motor officers elect to not wear their body armor but I always did.

Helmets? Full coverage obviously conceals the face of the officer so most admins won't have it. Tactically, we are trained to remove our helmets whenever we dismount. It presents a larger target and impairs hearing because of the headset. Additionally, the full coverage helmets limit visibility for patrol type operations.

It would be nice if one of the M/C clothing companies would introduce a functional line of clothing that could be used on duty. I really doubt that admins are going to like big "Joe Rocket" logos and the like. Some Aerostich items might be applicable but you start to get into cost considerations. Obviously, the admins are going to want to have the officers look sharp. Continuous riding dirties Aerostich and the like considerably. It would cost a small fortune to equip each officer w/ several sets of high end M/C clothing so that they could stay clean. Add to that the change in seasons and you can see where it would go.

Hope this helps...

I, as just on voice, would fully support paying more taxes to keep motor officers in functional, tactical, riding gear. Even after having 2 encounters with before mentioned officers who were truly, well, you know. I see kids playing paint ball war games in better gear than our officers; this is not right. The European MX riders ride with 'under' amour. It is flexible, light weight, provides better protection than 'outer' armer, and allows them to display their corporate sponsors on their clothing. This concept could work for motor officers too. The 'appearance' could be Ponch and John while the road rash / tactical protection was covered underneath. IMHO, our motor officers take too many risks with safety for 'appearance'. No way would I ride with their so-called PPE, even as a civilian. IMHO, of course. And, to the forum MO's, I hope to meet you some day; the conversation would be interesting, and I want to know more of what your daily life as an officer is *really* like.

 

[Rogue]

I saw one LA County motor with a full face helmet on on the 60 freeway. +1 to them for allowing it.

 

[dcarver]

I saw one LA County motor with a full face helmet on on the 60 freeway. +1 to them for allowing it.

+1

 

[Indian Scout]

I mentioned Aerostich. $950.00. I can tell you that it would not go over well here. The jackets w/ belt loops are not secure enough for when you have to get tactical. They shift around too much and make too much noise when moving. All of the reflective tape becomes a tactical disadvantage if you are having to clear a building or some similar activity that requires covertness.
I would like to see a set of protective pants with a good belt system that you can secure a duty belt to. I have a set of Harley FSGR(?) pants, that I bought personally, for cold weather and rain. They offer good protective qualities in addition to insulation and dryness. In the summer, they are too hot to wear during the day time. Motor Officers in the south have to make sure to protect from heat stroke. I would be happy to see some type of mesh system created for LE. It may not be the most optimal protection but it is better than polyester or wool.

Still, all of this goes against tradition and that is a hard thing to change.

Quick hi-jack

Regarding this picture, it should be noted that Ponch (Erik Estrada) got his star on the Hollywood walk of fame yesterday. I attended at his invitation.

End of hi-jack

 

[motorgod]

btw....California LEO's do not have to wear seatbelts. That would be an individual department policy. I do not wear a seatbelt while on duty. It only took one time for the seatbelt to get hooked on my safety gear and then I was in a very unsafe situation.

 

[Indian Scout]

I saw one LA County motor with a full face helmet on on the 60 freeway. +1 to them for allowing it.

IT"S NOT APPROVED GEAR. I know don't ask me how.

 

[Indian Scout]

This whole issue boils down to looking like the general public thinks an leo should look.

Most drivers think motorcycle riders dressed in safety gear are space cadets.

 

[dcarver]

btw....California LEO's do not have to wear seatbelts. That would be an individual department policy. I do not wear a seatbelt while on duty. It only took one time for the seatbelt to get hooked on my safety gear and then I was in a very unsafe situation.

REALLY? So what makes officers ABOVE the law they are sworn to uphold? Isn't this a double standard?

 

[Rogue]

I saw one LA County motor with a full face helmet on on the 60 freeway. +1 to them for allowing it.

IT"S NOT APPROVED GEAR. I know don't ask me how.

Was it you? It made me do a double take! it was painted in department colors, could an officer get a special okay?

 

[FJR_pig]

btw....California LEO's do not have to wear seatbelts. That would be an individual department policy. I do not wear a seatbelt while on duty. It only took one time for the seatbelt to get hooked on my safety gear and then I was in a very unsafe situation.

REALLY? So what makes officers ABOVE the law they are sworn to uphold? Isn't this a double standard?

Not defending him here, because I wear mine on-duty after a classmate was killed on duty after being ejected following a high-speed rear ender in 1997, but in Oregon, there are a number of exceptions to the safety belt law. Taxis for one, which I've always thought odd...

Regarding this picture, it should be noted that Ponch (Erik Estrada) got his star on the Hollywood walk of fame yesterday. I attended at his invitation.End of hi-jack

Re-hi jack.

Did anyone watch that show "Armed and Famous" with Ponch when it was on awhile back? I laughed my ass off. Hope it returns.

Re-end of hi-jack.

 

[Rogue]

btw....California LEO's do not have to wear seatbelts. That would be an individual department policy. I do not wear a seatbelt while on duty. It only took one time for the seatbelt to get hooked on my safety gear and then I was in a very unsafe situation.

REALLY? So what makes officers ABOVE the law they are sworn to uphold? Isn't this a double standard?

A few years ago two LAPD officers had a head on collision during a pursuit with neither of the officers wearing belts while the state was doing a crack down on seat belt enforcement and the papers had a field day with it. A lot of quotes from the brass saying we are looking into it.

 

[MMarsh]

I saw one LA County motor with a full face helmet on on the 60 freeway. +1 to them for allowing it.

If The one you saw was on a BMW, it was probably me. We are currently testing Three different models of flip helmets. I was testing a shuberth for almost a month. We are also field testing a Nolan and the Shoei multitec.

Our department policy is that all motors are required to wear thier protective vests because it is considered a part of our safety gear. We also just finished testing and received approval for a new jacket made by a company called Frontline that has full CE armor in the shoulders and elbows as well as back protection. It has all the benefits as your good civilian gear but because it was designed by a group of motorcops, it also has some additional features that make it a great working jacket.

We also have new unifoms being designed and prototypes are currently being tested as well.

One of the challenges for our department is due to the large area that we cover. The needs of the motors in the high desert where it gets well over a 100 in the summer are not the same as the needs of the guys working Malibu, but everyone still has to wear the same uniform.

 

[otrfjr]

Our department policy is that all motors are required to wear thier protective vests because it is considered a part of our safety gear. We also just finished testing and received approval for a new jacket made by a company called Frontline that has full CE armor in the shoulders and elbows as well as back protection. It has all the benefits as your good civilian gear but because it was designed by a group of motorcops, it also has some additional features that make it a great working jacket.
We also have new unifoms being designed and prototypes are currently being tested as well.

That's really good news about the gear being designed with officers in mind & being tested by officers. Do you think there's any chance that other depts will want to emulate you? Any way to spread the word?

Do you know what moto LEOs in Europe typically wear?

 

[SMC]

:dribble: Some motorcycle departments have started approving cycleport pants and jackets, in fact they have a pant that is made specifically for police motorcycle personnel.

 

[dean]

I mentioned Aerostich. $950.00. I can tell you that it would not go over well here. The jackets w/ belt loops are not secure enough for when you have to get tactical. They shift around too much and make too much noise when moving. All of the reflective tape becomes a tactical disadvantage if you are having to clear a building or some similar activity that requires covertness.

sorry, didn't realize your motorcycle cops were used for tactical response. maybe i shouldn't phrase that way, to sound that black and white. it's just that most m/c units i'm familiar with are not going to be the ones clearing a house. they're on a m/c because that's their speciality; but i guess different jurisdictions are different.

re: the reflective stuff, seems like it would be useful 90% of the time for a m/c cop, as 90% of their work is on the road, getting off the bike to deal with traffic violations and the like, as opposed to 10% of the time when they're the only unit around and clearing a house. again, perhaps they do more tactical stuff in your jurisdiction.

for me, when i'm clearing a house, i want my badge to be seen, i want big bold reflective leo letters, i want people to know i'm a leo. what situations come to mind when cops don't want others to know they're cops? stings, reverse stings, crime suppression units, drug buys, etc. are motorcycle cops doing those operations?

in general, i can't imagine being in any type of motorcycle gear, let alone an aersotich, while entering any type of tactical response, but that's me. ( :

 

[weekend rider]

Thats a big no on the TAXES :angry: they make enough money

weekend rider

 

[MMarsh]

:dribble: Some motorcycle departments have started approving cycleport pants and jackets, in fact they have a pant that is made specifically for police motorcycle personnel.

I just checked out thier site. They have some really nice gear.

 

[rickysnickers]

Indian Scout,

I saw your tag at the bottom of your post. Please tell me you don't wear a three piece patch on your back.

Rick

 

[Rogue]

Indian Scout,
I saw your tag at the bottom of your post. Please tell me you don't wear a three piece patch on your back.

Rick

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