Do Bicycle Cops Strengthen Community Engagement?

Two-wheeled patrols might make officers more approachable, but reform advocates say it will take more to ease tensions in some cities

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By Bill Lucia

Route Fifty

SEATTLE — The two officers were riding their bicycles south, on Second Avenue near Pike Street, when they came upon a man named Larry Mandic. He was lying on the concrete steps of the Eitel Building, a seven-story structure that has been mostly vacant for years.

Seattle’s municipal code prohibits people from sitting or lying on sidewalks in this part of downtown between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. But that wasn’t the only reason Seattle Police Department Officers Norhihisa Etoh and Ponha Lim stopped to issue Mandic a $23 citation.

“You’re getting a ticket because I gave you a warning three days ago,” Etoh said to him. “Four days ago you were smoking crack at a bus stop. I think I’m being reasonable.”

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