Officer Charlie Tompson on mountain bike patrol in Brunswick. Scott Stewart, courtesy of Brunswick Police Department

BRUNSWICK — Since becoming police chief in June, Scott Stewart has made the Mountain Bike Unit a main focus in his efforts to increase community policing in Brunswick, he said.

“I believe that we break down some communication barriers when we interact with the community on a more regular basis,” Stewart said in a phone interview. “One of the better ways to do that is for officers to be approachable to talk to and not necessarily inside their cars.”

“Brunswick is a very, very outdoor, bicycle, walking [oriented] community,” he said. “There’s a lot of cycling enthusiasts who just think it is a great idea and I think it’s a win-win for us and the community.”

Stewart also said the “high visibility during the day, yet low visibility at night” is an important characteristic of the Mountain Bike Unit.

For Officer Charlie Tompson, the Mountain Bike Unit is not just a seasonal duty, and the Brunswick Police Department recently purchased a pair of studded snow tires for one of the two patrol bikes to keep him on two wheels for the winter.

The studded snow tires cost $80 and the Police Department worked with a local bicycle shop to acquire the two patrol units at a reduced cost about five years ago, according to Stewart.

“I’ve always ridden bikes, since I was a kid, and getting on the bike this summer, or starting this spring, kind of brought some normalcy to downtown when COVID hit,” Tompson said in a phone interview.

Tompson said that in many ways he prefers the bike to a cruiser, even in the winter, because it allows him to be more accessible, communicative and build a personal relationship with the public.

“I’ve actually stopped people (on the bike) and said, hey, have you guys seen this person out on the road? We’re looking for them. And they’ll give me a call here at the PD and tell me,” he said.

Tompson rides around 20 miles a day, according to Stewart.

“If there is nothing specific going on, we leave it up to the officer to ride the bike wherever/whenever they feel is appropriate,” Stewart said in an email.

If there is a specific issue, however, the officer would be sent on a “directed patrol.”

“For instance, if we are experiencing a rash of car burglaries, we may have the Officer patrol the area at night on the bike, instead of a cruiser,” said Stewart.

In December, Tompson was struck while on a patrol bike by a shoplifter fleeing in a vehicle at Cook’s Corner, however did not sustain any injury.

“We were trying to chase this woman that was involved in the theft and she went around a building one way, I went the other and she just came around and didn’t stop,” he said. “You ride defensively, no matter if you’re on a police bike or regular bike.”

Officers on patrol bikes are required to wear a helmet and carry the same gear as if they were in a police car.

“He really embraced (Mountain Bike Patrol) for me and represented the police department very well this past year, so much that he actually asked if I would consider buying studded snow tires for the mountain bike so he could ride year-round,” he said.

“I initially laughed, because I thought he was kidding — but he’s very serious and he’s been riding it,” Stewart said. “It is awesome, you know, good for him.”

Stewart also said that Mountain Bike Patrol is not just for the downtown area, and officers will drive over the bicycles to other areas of Brunswick to patrol, such as Cook’s Corner.

The Brunswick Mountain Bike Unit originally began in the 1993, and “was the leading agency pushing mountain bike patrols,” Stewart said.

“In fact, we used to have a yearly training for other departments to come and put their officers through and we’re actually starting that up again this year,” he said. “We’re going to put on a training class in the spring, and we’re going to train other officers and more officers here from Brunswick PD on mountain bikes.”