Police Trade Four Wheels For Two At New Downtown Location

Tuesday, October 30th 2007, 9:29 pm

By: News On 6

Hoping to combat crime, the Tulsa Police Department opened a new office in downtown Tulsa. News On 6 anchor Omar Villafranca reports instead of using patrol cars officers at the new storefront will use a different set of wheels.

Located in the 500 Block of South Main the Tulsa police opened the newest crime-fighting hub in downtown Tulsa on Tuesday. Mayor Kathy Taylor says the storefront will help pave the way for a safer downtown Tulsa.

"As that BOK center opens in September â€˜08, we're going to have a lot more traffic down here, and we want to make sure that our police department has a very visible presence," Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor said.

Police cruisers will not clog parking spaces at the storefront. Instead, officers at this station will use bicycles to step up security. And with construction clogging downtown streets, in this case, two wheels are better than four.

"The bikes can get to one point to the next in a lot quicker time,â€ said Tulsa Police Officer Jennifer Mansell. â€œWe can take the allies, the one way streets, we can go the opposite direction."

Police say the bikes have another advantage, they don't make as much noise as police cars, allowing them to quietly ride up to suspects without being noticed. The bikes stealth-quality already helped one officer nab a drug user.

"There was a guy kind of bent over, looked like he was lighting a cigarette, we rode up closer, I rode up to him closer than we are right now, and he was lighting a crack pipe. I literally took the pipe out of his mouth today,â€ Officer Scott Dean said.

The storefront will only cost the city $1 a year to rent. Downtown Tulsa Unlimited picked up the rest of the tab for the one-year lease. Kanbar properties also donated money to remodel the space.

Watch the video: TPD Moves In Downtown