Meet one of Newton’s motorcycle officers

Two officers are qualified to operate the Newton Police Department’s electric motorcycle on patrol. One of them is Officer Randy Oldfield.

The Newton Daily News previously reported the NPD recieved a grant from Alliant Energy to pay motorcycle and subsequent training. The training course was at the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s Police Motorcycle Officer’s course which was 80 hours, in Arlington, Texas in 2017 according to an NPD weekly report.

The selection process was simple as Oldfield felt the experience he had would benefit the department. He sat down and spoke with Newton Police Chief Rob Burdess about how the bike would be utilized and he would be a good fit for the position.

“Leaving the meeting with great excitement, I entered my name into the selection process and was fortunate to be selected,” Oldfield said.

Oldfield said he has been riding motorcycles since he was 16 and hopefully the training process would be a little smoother for him during the two-week course sponsored by Harley Davidson.

“Having ridden for all those years, I thought this class was going to be a breeze, but it was more challenging than anticipated. The motor officer training class was one of the most difficult trainings and classes I had ever attended,” he said.

During the course, the trainees were provided a bike, a 2017 Harley Davidson Road King, weighing in at approximately 830 pounds, which Oldfield said was a tiring experience.

“It was physically tiring and demanding having to pick up a 2017 Road King after dumping it over and over tends to wear one out quickly,” Oldfield said.

Bikes operate differently than patrol cars. Officers are more exposed than in a typical police vehicle. This can make being a motorcycle officer more personable for the community because it makes it easier to interact with the officer.

“I am able to interact with people directly, whether it be as they are walking down the street or having a recreational fire in the back yard,” he said. “I stop to talk to anyone and everyone I can.”

The benefits aren’t just for the officers’ opportunity to interact with the public. The bike offers potential and benefits for the police department in terms of how the officer can patrol and what edge the bike brings over a traditional squad car.

“I can see traffic violations much easier like people texting or not wearing their seat belts for instance,” Oldfield said. “We have had suicidal subjects in isolated areas that only the motorcycle could reach and have found them and rendered aid.”

Burdess added, “Officer Oldfield and the other motor officers have done an excellent job getting the program up and running and have shown where creative use of resources can make a huge impact on the community.”

Differences between a motorcycle and a car become more apparent during traffic stops.

“I have to stand out in the open, hoping a car doesn’t run into me or someone not seeing me and turning in front of me at an intersection,” Oldfield said.

Sure, the motorcycle encourages community engagement and allows officers to enter harder to reach places, but Oldfield likes it for other reasons too.

“The easiest part of patrol is just getting to drive around the beautiful town and take in the smell of the flowers, hearing the people enjoying a family event at their house, waving to all the friendly people walking or sitting on their porches, looking at the architecture and every now and then speeding away from a dog who wants to chase me,” Oldfield said.

Contact Dustin Teays at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or dteays@newtondailynews.com