Portland, Oregon’s bike thieves are so brazen that not only does the city’s police department have its own dedicated bike theft task force — this week the criminals stole a police patrol cycle.
PPB Bike Unit Officer Dave Sanders told local KOIN6 news he’d secured his bicycle outside the Multnomah County Courthouse using handcuffs instead of a regular bike lock as he was “in a rush.”
“I didn’t bring a U-lock with me — which I would highly recommend — but one thing we do if we are in a hurry is use our handcuffs to secure the bike, which I did to a bike rack in front of the main doors of the courthouse,” Sanders said.
When he returned over an hour later, the bike — which had a “Police” logo on the side — was gone.
“Yeah, it is ironic” Sanders agreed. “The willingness to take a police bike, that’s shocking on a deeper level, to be brazen and bold in taking that bike.”
According to KOIN 6, Portland police estimate a bike is stolen every hour in the city, with approximately 27 bikes stolen every day.
The Police department’s Bike Task Force noted in a tweet: “Going out on a limb here, but this may support the argument that we still have a slight bike theft problem in the city…”
Going out on a limb here, but this may support the argument that we still have a slight bike theft problem in the city……