Sheriff Brian Hieatt announced Monday the formation of a new Motorcycle Unit for the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office. The unit was formed when the sheriff's office acquired two BMW motorcycles through the Virginia Asset Forfeiture Program and two Harley Davidson Police Duty motorcycles with a grant through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice. Local contributions also helped start the new squad.
"We were fortunate enough to have received a donation from Marshall Miller & Associates to make sure the motorcycles are equipped with radar and emergency equipment that will help these deputies make a positive impact in the county," Hieatt said.
Three deputies — Detective Chris Vance, Deputy Aaron Doud and Deputy Brandon Blanton — attended and graduated from the Virginia State Police's Motor Program, which trains state troopers, deputies and officers across the state, Hieatt said. The motor program provided guidance and training at no charge to the sheriff's office.
Hieatt said the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office will be the only law enforcement agency in Southwest Virginia's 15 counties to have a trained motorcycle unit.
First Lt. C.E. McNerlin said there are situations when motorcycles have advantages over regular police cruisers.
"Well, in some incidents, basically with these vehicles these guys are riding on the roadway and they sit up a little higher and they are actually able to see inside another vehicle a lot easier," he said. "You've got a different view and perspective with these than you do with an automobile. And plus, God forbid, you've got a nasty collision somewhere and traffic's blocked off, you're able to move these things through an area to be able to get up to the scene to begin helping individuals and start working the incident."
Motorcycles can also make deputies more approachable when they're on duty.
"Not only that, with motorcycles, people that sometimes will not even think about approaching law enforcement, they will see that and it will kind of give them a talking point and they will be more relaxed and more confident about coming up and speaking to an officer," McNerlin said.
Besides patrols for speed and traffic enforcement, the new motorcycle squad will do escort duty for funerals and visiting dignitaries as well as education and other community functions.
Even before the new squad was announced Monday, Vass and Doud assisted the Virginia State Police's motorcade Nov. 2 when they helped escort then-presidential candidate Donald Trump to a rally in Salem, Va., Hieatt said.
"I've rode motorcycles since I was a kid," Blanton said next to the BMW he will be using. "Then sheriff came in and put this whole thing together. I love being able to work for a sheriff who puts so much into the county. He asked me and I felt as somebody who's rode motorcycles his whole life, I wanted to step forward and I'd be able to make a difference not only in a patrol car, but be able to make a difference on a motorcycle as well."
Blanton said he hoped that motorcycle riders transversing the Back of the Dragon route through the county will be more inclined to stop for a sheriff's office motorcycle than they would a regular sheriff's cruiser.
"We have wanted and worked towards this program for a long time and I am pleased with the help of Marshall Miller & Associates, DCJS and the Virginia State Police, we were able to launch this program without requesting an increase in the sheriff's office budget," Hieatt said. "We also have received a specialized grant targeted at traffic enforcement to pay for these deputies to patrol high-risk areas where we receive a lot of complaints, and help to combat traffic violations that contribute to crashes such as speeding, distracted driving and reckless driving."
© 2024 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
