Bothell Police Department’s new crime-fighting tool — ebikes

Bothell police have new crime-fighting tools to assist them on the streets and they’re pretty rad. The department purchased two ebikes from Rad Power Bikes and is using them to patrol the city.

The Bothell Police Department promotes that the bikes’ biggest benefits are power and speed. They can go a lot faster than regular bicycles and officers aren’t as winded when they stop to apprehend a suspect or reach their destination. Rad Power Bikes is based in Ballard.

The bikes are power-assisted. An electric motor kicks in to assist the rider when the pedals start moving. There is also an option to use a throttle to pick up the speed even more.

According to the Bothell Reporter, officers have already cited two cases where the bikes were useful — one in finding a lost child at a fun run event and finding a gentleman with dementia.

Bothell is not the first police department to acquire the ebikes. Federal Way police got them last year. Rad also supplies bikes to police in Normandy Park, and Baltimore County, Maryland. Police in Vancouver, B.C. may be the next cops to ride Rad’s bikes.

Sgt. John Rogers with Bothell’s police department said he first tried out the ebikes at a University of Washington football game last year. The company gave the bikes to police patrolling the game. After that, it was a done deal — he had to have them for Bothell. Two bikes were approved early in 2018.