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St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office hosts police motorcycle training

St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office hosts police motorcycle training for its own deputies and other departments.

St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office deputies, along with officers from several other agencies, recently participated in a rigorous two-week motorcycle training course to obtain certifications to safely ride with their respective motorcycle divisions on the street, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

Participants in the course, held throughout October, included deputies from St. Bernard, as well as the Louisiana State Police, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Orleans Criminal Sheriff’s Office, Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, Gretna Police Department and the Orleans Levee District Police Department.

Course instructors included St. Bernard Dep. Glen Markham and Sgt. Bryan Fleetwood, as well as Lt. Markus Smith with the Louisiana State Police, Sgt. Jeff Navo with Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Eddie Brauner with the Orleans Levee District Police Department, and Dep. Jonathan Balestra with Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.

In addition to passing the initial 80-plus hour certification course, deputies must recertify once a year and state troopers every six months in order to continue riding on the street.

The skills taught during the course include: rider and motorcycle preparation, defensive riding strategies, riding in a straight line, cornering, braking, shifting, clutch-throttle control, and basic crash avoidance techniques. Following successful completion of the course, deputies also spend an additional week on the road in escort training.

Sheriff James Pohlmann said holding this type of training for deputies gives the Sheriff’s Office more options for using motorcycle officers and provides them with the tools to be safe on the road.

Currently, the Sheriff said, there are eight St. Bernard deputies who are certified to ride motorcycles for the department.  Deputies in the motorcycle division ride during parades, road races and special events, and they also serve as escorts and sometimes help with traffic enforcement.