Segways replace horses in Atlanta [Archive]

Casey

10-26-2002, 01:24 PM

quote:

Segway no hoss as a city pursuit vehicle

By JOEY LEDFORD
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

From the time Caroline Fenimore joined the Atlanta Police Department four years ago, she dreamed of patroling on horseback.

But in an out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new move so typical of Atlanta, the horses are gone, the victim of budget cutters. And this week, Fenimore began covering a downtown beat atop a Segway Human Transporter.

The mounted patrol -- 12 officers on horseback at its peak -- permanently dismounted last month, saving the city up to $350,000 a year. And even though the Segways cost $9,000 each, Atlanta police are getting six for free -- on loan.

Both horses and Segways are people magnets, and that's one of the reason for putting officers on them. Fenimore is happy to be riding the wave of the future, but she'd really rather be in a saddle.

"I grew up riding horses and I'm very comfortable on them," she said Tuesday. "I still think horses are a better draw."

Fenimore isn't the only Atlanta police officer trading one mode of transportation for another. Officer Jennings Kilgore swapped his bicycle for a Segway. He too has some misgivings -- he'll miss the exercise of biking 10 to 15 miles a day -- but he's excited about being one of history's first Segway patrol officers.

He anticipates Atlanta's first Segway police pursuit. Perhaps it will be a purse snatcher. Or maybe even a bank robber.

"I have pursued a suspect on a bike," he said. "They train us with a dismount, where you basically throw the bike down. Once you get close to the perpetrator, you instigate a takedown move to take them to the ground."

A Segway pursuit would be similar, he said, except that Dean Kamen's computerized contraption has a "kill mode" that would keep it from proceeding without the officer.
Likewise, Kilgore can't see anyone making off with his wheels while he's making an arrest. "Each Segway has its own magnetic, coded key," he said. "Without that key, you've got an 80-pound paperweight."

A Segway pursuit would give the officer a definite advantage beyond the vehicle's superior speed. A new state law limits them to 7 mph on sidewalks, but an officer pursuing a suspect could whiz along at up to 15 mph.

"When you chase somebody on foot, they are getting tired and you're not," said Kilgore.
That said, Maj. John Woodard said he doesn't see the Segway becoming a pursuit vehicle. "It gives us a higher visibility," he said. "People notice it and they are going to notice the police officer."

And hovering a good 8-inches above a crowd, the officer will be able to better see what's going on around him or her.

Merritt Schatz, a field supervisor for the Downtown Ambassadors, said the Segway is tailor-made for the 61 purveyors of goodwill, directions and information.

"That's our whole job, for people to feel that they can walk up to us," he said. "We think this is really going to improve that."

The Segway's sizable saddlebags will allow Schatz to carry a big load of maps, trash bags and even jumper cables for helping stranded motorists.

But there's one little negative for Segway ambassadors. Safety -- and the law -- requires them to trade their trademark pith headgear for a bike helmet.