Mobile Police Train On Motorcycles For Mardi Gras

It may look like a leisurely lesson in bike riding, but this training is serious.

“They've got to learn to negotiate not just those small spaces but beads, moon pie and candy in the road as well,” says Mobile Police Sergeant Bill Bedgood. He leads this group of law enforcement officers in a training session at Municipal Park. Officers say this course is very important because a Mardi Gras parade presents special challenges.

“You have to be mindful of people and small children that reach under the barricades, so there's a lot to watch out for,” says Alabama State Trooper Corporal Joe Piggott. With of the activity going on during Mardi Gras, motorcycle cops say that's some of the best training they could possibly get.

“It's stressful it's hectic it's going to challenge their abilities as motorcycle operators it just doesn't get much better than this,” says Bedgood. Motorcycles let officers zip from one place to the other along narrow parade routes. The Mardi Gras crowds present such a unique challenge; a small group of officers from Michigan are also here to learn the ropes. They say Mobile's crowds are something rare.

“You can't get the magnitude of training, the setting I guess is the best way to put it to learn from,” says John Hankins with the Police Department team from Inkster, Michigan. Those officers will be sworn-in during a ceremony before Thursday night’s parade.