Roosevelt Island Segway Officers Chase Down and Apprehend Suspects in Subway Robbery
Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra reports that Roosevelt Island Segway officers chased down and captured two suspects in yesterday's subway robbery:
I just wanted to update you on the Robbery call we had yesterday. A Public Safety Officer was notified by two good Samaritans of a female robbed in the Roosevelt Island Subway Station. The PSD officer immediately conveyed the information received to all PSD officers on duty. A search was conducted and the subjects were spotted running from the station. Officers pursued both male subjects on foot and via the Segway, and they were apprehended by PSD officers with no further incident. Both subjects were turned over to NYPD Transit officers who processed the individuals for arrest.No, this is not a picture of Roosevelt Island Public Safety officers apprehending suspected subway robbers on their Segways.
But this is Roosevelt Island Segway officer on patrol
.
Good job by the Public Safety Department and officers involved!
15 comments :
Something that could have been done using bicycles. Bikes are much faster and are easier to handle than those Segways. I really would like to know what crossed the PSD's folks in charge to spend money on Segways.
saves money on the environment with not having to spend fuel. you are ignorant just for the fact that you didnt congratulate the officers for doing a good job.
Hi,
Would someone PLEASE investigate the cronyism that is currently occurring in RIOC. It’s a shame that a majority of the people who work there are far from qualified of their positions.
To poster number 2: Segways consume electricity. More than 90% of all electricity consumed in the United States is produced from non-renewable sources, mainly coal. Coal plants contaminate the environment and contribute to global warming. Bicycles consume no electricity or fuel and therefore do not contribute to global warming. Please check your facts before accusing others of ignorance.
Why is the officer's face covered by a white bar? Does he or she have a reason to remain anonymous?
Hey Fred,
The officer's face is not covered by a white bar. It appears as though she is turning on the Segway. Also, you missed blogger #2's "message of ignorance" and that was that he/she should have given kudos on a job well done. I'm an NYPD officer who lives on the island and the PSD officers are doing a fine job.
Segways are tools that have their place in Law Enforcement; just like Bicycles and Motor Vehicles. From what I can see, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department has all three. Residents should quit complaining so much and be happy you live in a safe neighborhood. If you don't really like it here, move somewhere else!
it's amazing that the people who live on your island are all up in la la land. from checking out this blog, it helps make my decision of even wanting to move out there. I will stick to someplace else, like NJ. It seems everyone wants to be in everyone else s business, and you people complain about everything.
To the anonymous poster at 1:13pm. Tell me one or two reasons why a Segway has a place in law enforcement in general and here on Roosevelt Island in specific? With or w/o Segways RI would still be a safe place. I just see it a $10k (at least) waste of money.
How many Segways does the entire NYPD have? 3? Maybe 5? And we have 2. Ridiculous.
OK fine. Congratulation for a job well done. Now, what is the justification for having Segways on this island?
if you want to be technical, NYPD has at least 30 segways.
ALSO
more than 150 law enforcement agencies worldwide use Segways for a variety of purposes, such as parking enforcement, patrol, providing crowd control and event security, and in community policing activities.
And they're traversing all manner of terrain — bike paths and trails, gravel and even sand — in all kinds of weather, says Kleber, addressing some of the common misperceptions folks have about the devices.
"There's perception that you can't use them in the rain or snow, but that's not true," he says. "You can use them in the rain and in light snow. And you can use them in the cold, the batteries are operable to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and we have cold-weather tires.
"People also think you can only ride them on pavement and that they can't go uphill," Kleber continues. "But we've got tourists riding them up and down the streets of San Francisco. The main thing you need is traction. Anywhere you have traction you can ride."
The device provides a range of benefits agencies find very attractive, says Kleber. One of the biggest is budgetary. Since the Segway runs on batteries, plugging into a normal outlet, agencies can noticeably reduce fuel expenses.
"It's very efficient," he says. "It gets the equivalent of 450 mpg if it was gas instead of electric. It costs less than buying a newspaper to charge it. And it's nice that it has zero emissions. This fits into the clean air goals that many cities have."
Segways can free up patrol vehicles for other functions, another cost savings. Also, officers who formerly walked their beat can now ride, allowing them to respond far more swiftly to emergencies and with much less fatigue. And because officers on a Segway are taller (their height is elevated by 8 inches) they have greater visibility — and are more visible themselves.
There's also great PR value in these machines, Kleber says.
"In the United States, I hear a lot about community policing," he says. "And of all the benefits, this is probably the top one. If you're in a car, you're not very approachable, but when you're on a Segway PT, you can move two to three times faster than walking speed, but still remain approachable. People come from all over to talk to you."
30 Segways? Well, the NYPD serves 8.5 million people. The PSD serves 15000 people. There is quite a discrepancy. Anyway, what does a Segway do that you cannot do on bike or on foot? Both do not require electricity at all (hello carbon footprint), are much more flexible, are always readily available, are both entirely legal to use (the Segway, AFAIK is still in a grey area when it comes to using it on public streets), and cost a lot less.
Why again does a safety enforcement agency require Segways to do the job?
segways can do anything that can be done on bike or foot. jumping on/off curbs is not a good idea (from personal experience). the main advantage i can say is the lack of fatigue. if you did a side by side comparison of 2 psd officers responding to a fight in blackwell park while responding from northtown park. running on foot, versus riding on segway, i can assure you the segway rider is going to have much more energy available to deal with the situation once they get onto the scene of the fight.
the last comment shows a great point. it is a mature answer. someone with a good head on their shoulders.
waste of money they don't even use them any more and they got along fine with out them why the extra toys thats all it is and most of them tear around almost hitting people jsut like the way they drive thier cars i think the new cheif gipped them.
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