Greenburgh police rolls out Segway as high-tech crime-fighter

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Greenburgh police rolls out Segway as high-tech crime-fighter

By REBECCA BAKER

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: November 14, 2007)

HARTSDALE - He's seven feet tall, wears sunglasses and can zip down the street at 12 miles an hour.

It's not a new X-Men comic book character. He's Ed Devito, a Greenburgh community police officer who is fighting crime with a new piece of technology: A Segway Personal Transporter.

The department rolled out the two-wheeled stand-up scooter for the first time this morning at the Hartsdale train station. DeVito will use the device for patrolling the East Hartsdale section of town.

Read more of this story tomorrow in The Journal News.

[Guest]

sounds pretty cool, anyway to get pics on it? ...and not to sound like a super buff, but does this have lights and a siren on it, cuz that would be real funny!

[ny10570 745]

NYPD ran into trouble with the Segways. The broken and uneven surfaces of city streets were causing guys to fall, so now they've switched to a three wheeled version.

[27east 19]

NYPD has used the three wheeled Cushmans for a long long time.

Does GPD's new unit have SCR capabilities?

[JrCapt 0]

Apologies for the NSFW nature of this link (some language), but it is really very funny and apt. Segways are $3-4k, whereas a bicycle is $300-400 - a 90% savings, and good for your health. Bikes can have storage mounted for a first aid kid or zipcuffs, and can go faster/handle street traffic very well. I'm curious what part of Greenburgh will have these on patrol, if it is going to be a significant advantage to roll after perps faster than the speed of a tricycle. I'm surprised that that much cash is being put forward for something like this.

Here's the link (contains explicit language)

www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=segway_more_complicated_than_it_needs_to_be

[Remember585 815]

Yeah, but can they tow a shopping cart?!

[ny10570 745]

NYPD has used the three wheeled Cushmans for a long long time.

Not a cushman, a three wheeled segway

[Oswegowind 17]

The segways are fancy...in EPCOT (Disney), they have a class you can sign up for to learn how to use the Segway...they take you all over the place...pretty cool...didn't have time to do it though!

[wcr20 17]

Chicago PD and FD have been using them for a few years - there's a segway store (or at least there was) a block from my office, and there were a fleet of them there one day - all over the sidewalk, for a software upgrade.

[snkbitn 2]

more than 100 law enforcement departments and security providers from fancy international resorts to local universities have purchased Segways, and military police and logistics personnel on bases are looking into them as well.

[Oswegowind 17]

No RED lights?????

[Oswegowind 17]

And here is the rest of the Greenburgh Story, published 11-15-07...quoted from LoHud.com-Journal News online News Center

Greenburgh police roll out Segway as high-tech crime fighter

By REBECCA BAKER

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: November 15, 2007)

HARTSDALE - He's 7 feet tall, wears sunglasses and can zip down the street at 12 miles an hour.

He's Ed DeVito, a Greenburgh community police officer fighting crime with a new piece of technology: a Segway Human Transporter.

Greenburgh rolled out the two-wheeled stand-up scooter to the public yesterday at the Hartsdale train station. The Police Department is the first in the Lower Hudson Valley to adopt the personal transporters.

DeVito will use the $5,900 device to patrol in East Hartsdale. The Segway, he said, will help him do his job faster, easier and better.

"It's 10 times easier to interact with the public," he said. "People are more likely to stop you."

The Segway raised the curiosity of Ann Bez, a registered nurse with the Hartsdale Medical Group, who chatted with DeVito for a few minutes. "I think it's great," she said. "It makes him taller. He can see more. He can maneuver so easily."

Wearing a bicycle helmet and a yellow and blue windbreaker, DeVito demonstrated the agility of the Segway, turning tight circles and weaving through narrow spaces.

A front leather pouch with the Greenburgh police logo carries a traffic vest, flashlight and personal items, while a pair of black plastic storage pouches holds police reports on one side and a portable defibrillator on the other.

The Metropolis Country Club on Dobbs Ferry Road donated the $6,000 price. "I must tell you, I didn't know what a Segway was," said Natalie Robinson, who co-chaired the club's July fundraiser for community groups. "I think it's a terrific thing."

Greenburgh is among a growing number of law enforcement agencies to use Segways on patrol. The New York Police Department unveiled 10 in May, joining departments in Chicago and Bridgeport, Conn.

Police Chief John Kapica wants to buy two more. Segways allow community police officers to cover their assigned areas more quickly than by walking the beat, he said. DeVito's can take him from the train station to Central Avenue in about two minutes - five times faster than walking.

Kapica said the Segways also beat bike patrols because they boost cops above traffic and crowds and aren't as tiring.

Police say the Segway makes officers more approachable than riding on a bike or in a cruiser, and provides a conversation starter that could help police forge bonds with residents, merchants and commuters.

"People aren't used to seeing this thing on the street," Kapica said. "It's so novel."

Yesterday's demonstration stopped Steve Lingeman, a 63-year-old West Hartsdale Avenue resident walking past the station. Lingeman said the Segway patrol could be effective, but worried about DeVito's safety, especially in traffic at night.

"I'd put a flashing light on that sucker, just to keep him from being creamed," he said.

Capt. Bill Graham of the Greenburgh police said a light had been ordered.

For a video on the Greenburgh Police Department's new Segway, go to LoHud.com

Picture:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...4/1216/NEWS0204

[nycemt728 49]

A Segway w/ police package including light, siren and reflective police striping comes to $ 6360.85. It includes a tail-light for increased visability. I would be curious to actually here an what a Segway officer thinks of them. I know we have some at work, and they make you sit through training to use them....seems a little silly.