I am not a motorcycle police officer; never was one, not even a wannabe. But over time, my appreciation of patrol boots, breeches, and the men who wear them has become evident on this blog from the activities I do, such as serving as a judge at police motorcycle riding competitions and befriending local cops who ride with me from time to time.
I received some questions from a fan of motorcops, wanting to know more about how they work and also about their thoughts on patrol boots. With the help of a close friend who is a motor officer, plus with knowledge I have gained from asking cops questions, let me share some answers which may satisfy curiosity of other fans of motor officers and patrol boots.
Q) What boot socks do they wear with the boots? I have trouble keeping my socks up for an hour…They are on for 8-plus hours.
A) My motorcop friend wears the same kind of socks that I recommend … cotton/acrylic/wool. Explained here on a previous blog post. He said that he hasn’t noticed socks falling down inside his boots, or if he did, he doesn’t care.
By the way, he usually is in uniform about 12 hours/day. He works 10-hour shifts, as most cops in our area do. 4 shifts “on” and 3 shifts “off” each week. The shifts overlap — 10pm to 8am; 6am to 4pm; 2pm to midnight. Overlap time is spent doing paperwork, in meetings and other duties in the station, in court, or in training. (Note: not all law enforcement agencies with motor units work the same shift schedule, and schedules vary by season, assignment, and from union negotiations. Schedules in various law enforcement agencies are different and not predictable.)
Q) Is this training required for officers already on the motorcycle force?
A) Yes, all cops, regardless of assignment, have to go through periodic training for use of weapons, changes in laws and their application, personnel policies, changes in procedures, and driving. Yep, there are regular refreshers for conducting a traffic stop and chasing a bad guy in a car, among other things. High-speed chases are only done on TV, not in real life. Then motor officers also must go through drills and practice on the use of their bike, especially if they are assigned a new or different model from the one to which they are accustomed. In my county, all cops use Harley Ultras. Other agencies may have three or four different kinds of bikes, depending on what was purchased when and the whims and interests of the current Chief, Captains, and other management.
Q) Are patrol boots “hot” (temperature-wise) on the feet in summer? (Great for mid January, but mid-August???)
A) Motorcops where I live are assigned both a cruiser and a fleet motorcycle. When the weather is warmer than about 90 degrees, my friend chooses the cruiser. He is allowed to choose driving the cruiser whenever he wants, so he doesn’t ride his motorbike when it is raining or when he has to go to court. Most of our motorcops do that, so you don’t see them on their motorcycles when the temperatures are hot and humid, unless they have to conduct an escort, such as for a funeral, or participate in a parade, such as for Independence Day. He said that he wears his motorboots all year, regardless of the vehicle he drives. The boots are part of his uniform.
Q) Do they have a second pair of boots to allow “rotation” periodically?
A) He said that he only has one pair of duty boots. He said that when he gets home with his new boots that I broke in for him, he will put his old boots in the trash. (And they’re in such bad shape, there’s no way to salvage them.)
Q) Did you gently suggest that he could get a good price for his old boots on eBay? I completely understand his hesitation (as a LEO), but he could give them to a third party to sell for him. And no need to ever mention that they belonged to a cop, etc. No need to mention the fetish angle, just selling a used item of clothing.
A) We’ve talked about that. There’s something about cops and their boots. When they consider their “old boots” to be worthy of retirement, they trash them. Only one motor officer I know who got promoted to Detective and no longer had to wear boots gave them to me to sell for him on eBay. Most cops just won’t consider it — they think that other guys wanting “used cop boots” are nuts — if the boots are in such bad shape, they can’t consider than anyone else would want them except for things that they consider to be creepy.
Q) During winter months (with snow, slush, water splashes, etc.,) do they have to polish the boots daily? I assume there is brief uniform inspection daily….
A) When the weather is bad, my local motorcop friend drives a cruiser and not a motorbike. He doesn’t ride in wet weather. Regulations from his agency state that motorbikes are put into storage for the winter, usually from December through mid-March. He drives a cruiser exclusively during those months.
Most cops don’t like polishing or maintaining boots. That’s one reason why they like synthetic materials on boot shafts, such as Dehner boots. They are easy to keep clean and “shined enough” (his words) with a wipe by a damp cloth, or occasional use of spray furniture polish. This post on my blog explains the procedure.
Q) I saw officers in Washington DC out in the cold and heat. (monitoring protests, escorting parades, and other events). Additionally I have seen officers on motorcycles with the “sidecars” which I understand if for icy conditions…
A) Washington, DC, has motor units affiliated with at least a dozen independent federal and local government agencies, all with different operating policies and standards. MPD (that is, DC Police) ride all year. They’re the ones with sidecars which are put on in November and removed in March. Other units such as Park Police, Capitol Police, and the Secret Service don’t have sidecars. The Secret Service will ride all year on regular police motorcycles (not equipped with a sidecar) as they move the President, Vice President, and visiting foreign dignitaries around the city. Other agencies usually don’t have motor officers ride in below-freezing weather. (Secret Service will use cruisers if there is snow or ice on the ground. They may be crazy, but they’re not stupid.) Out here in the suburbs, the use of a motorbike is less frequent.
Q) Does your cop friend ride a motorcycle on the weekends for pleasure? Belong to a motorcycle club, etc.? Somehow, to me it is akin to being a truck driver; driving all week would have me avoiding a similar vehicle on weekends.
A) Most motor officers do not own a personal motorcycle. The reason you state is something I hear often. Other reasons are that married cops, in particular, are like a lot of other married men regardless of profession. They are influenced by their fearful wives about safety, especially when they have children. Plus, “the wife” expects that they travel together in the customary minivan-w/kids. Not practical (or legal) to pack up a family and strap them on to different sides of a Harley with bungee cords. 🙂
There are a few exceptions, as there always are few exceptions. Some cops — usually the single, divorced, or widower who have more time — own a personal motorcycle. Some of them belong to a riding club, such as a brand-affiliated club or the Blue Knights. This is a club composed of current or retired motor officers.
BTW, when cops show up for club rides, they dress like any other biker — tech boots, jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, gloves, helmet. However, I am reminded by a friend who is a retired state trooper and avid motorcyclist that he and several of his friends choose to wear patrol boots and breeches when riding in cool/cold weather — both for comfort and warmth. So there are occasions where cops (or retired cops) wear boots and breeches when riding personal motorcycles off the job.
Note: images taken from my galleries of motorcop events on my website, my website itself and one from a public source. Any recognizable faces are meant for illustrative purposes only, and are not of officers who work in my local p.d. Photos (other than the one of Washington, DC) are my intellectual property–all rights reserved.
Life is short: know more about motorcops and their patrol boots.