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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Police Department's Bike Squad is looking for a few good riders.
Fourteen city police and four Utah Transit Authority officers are taking a three-day bicycle training course, being put through several drills that include maneuvering through cone patterns, making tight turns, successfully negotiating stairs at EnergySolutions Arena and racing around downtown while performing various tasks at each stop.
"It's been intense," said bike squad candidate Miles Sowthworth. "It's really rigorous. It's a lot more technical than I expected."
The drills are meant to mimic urban and foothill conditions. The four bike squads from the Salt Lake City Police Department typically work downtown, in the city's parks and at special events.
"They can do everything a regular patrol officer would do, but it enables them to get out into the community and be a little more approachable," said Det. Rick Wall.
After passing the course, the group then waits for any openings that come up on the bike squad. Salt Lake police spokeswoman Lara Jones said the good news for this class was there are immediate openings available.
The bicycle training school is offered once a year to interested officers.
