The Police Are Weaponizing Bikes, So Some Brands Have Suspended Sales of Police Bikes
As protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have swept the nation, in response to George Floyd’s killing by a former Minnesota police officer on May 25, police officers have been caught using bikes as makeshift weapons against demonstrators.
The images and videos, quickly spreading over social media, are eye-opening for many. In New York City, an officer allegedly used his bike to push back protesters. In Atlanta, an officer escalated a situation by using his bike as a weapon, only to have it wrested away from him by a bystander. In Seattle, officers in gas masks allegedly used bikes to corral protestors while their compatriots on the other side advanced. In Philadelphia, Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna Jr.—who has a history of misconduct—lunged at a young protestor who tapped his bike tire, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
For decades, brands have spent millions to market their bicycles as instruments of independence and joy. That marketing is being undone as people watch them used in haphazard acts of police brutality. One manufacturer has stopped selling bikes to police departments—at least temporarily—and there’s a rising call for other brands to follow suit. These actions raise the question: Is it time for the bike industry to part ways with the police?
Fuji Bikes announced on Friday, June 5, that it was suspending sales of bicycles to police departments, citing the officers’ “violent tactics” for which the bikes were neither intended nor designed to be used. In a statement, the company clarified that the move was temporary.
“We had always viewed the use of our bicycles by police, fire, security, and EMS as one of the better forms of community outreach,” the company said. “Community police on bikes can better connect with and understand the neighborhood, facilitating positive relationships between law enforcement and the citizens they are sworn to serve and protect.
“In an effort to make real change, we are beginning a dialogue with police departments nationwide to address how bikes are used in police activity and to ensure that police’s on-bike training reinforces that bicycles are not a weapon against our community. At this time, we are suspending the sale of Fuji police bikes until a conversation with these departments has occurred and we are confident that real change is being made.”
By contrast, Trek and its CEO John Burke issued statements supporting Black Lives Matter protests. On Tuesday, Trek announced multiple new policy initiatives, headlined by a commitment to spend millions of dollars creating 1,000 jobs for people of color, as well as building 50 new bike shops in underserved communities over the next decade.
Trek has long marketed specially designed police bikes to departments, but pulled them from their website at some point within the last few days. Although the company admitted their bikes were being “used by police in ways that are abhorrent and vastly different from their intended use,” Trek will likely continue to sell to departments.
“Our bicycles have played a long-time, important role in community-based law enforcement programs, bringing officers out of stations and vehicles and into neighborhoods where they are more connected to the communities they serve,” Burke said. “This approach to community relations has delivered positive change over the years, and we are supportive of our products being used in this manner. We’ve always created bikes for good—for people and the planet—and we support the peaceful protest of police brutality and inequality and oppose any unlawful action by any citizen including police—the vast majority of whom are just trying to protect their fellow citizens.”
Neither Trek nor Fuji responded to Bicycling’s requests for clarification or follow-up questions, such as how much business they generate from the sale of police bikes.
While many companies issued statements supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and peaceful protests, bike advocates like Rachel Olzer say those words ring hollow as long as those same companies still supply bikes to police departments.
“Seeing a tool I love used as a weapon against protestors made me feel sick to my stomach,” said Olzer, a co-founder of the Pedal to the People nonprofit in Minneapolis. “Putting out statements supporting Black Lives Matter, but still working with police departments, shows a lack of understanding about the movement. Fuji’s announcement was a step in the right direction, and hopefully that will lead other companies to do the same. ... [If not,] I hope that we as consumers we can put pressure on corporations to take a stand, divest, and hold the police accountable for their actions.”
For Trek and other brands serving the police-bike market—bike makers like Haro and KHS, helmet brands like Bell, and light manufacturer NiteRider—cutting off business with police departments means cutting off a reliable revenue stream, and accepting the risk of alienating conservative customers.
Mike Wear, vice president of the International Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA), predictably offers another viewpoint: If bike companies do discontinue their partnerships with police departments, they’re taking away what has traditionally been considered one of the best means for officers to safely and positively interact with their communities.
Wear says representatives from IPMBA and Fuji have been discussing Fuji’s concerns, but acknowledged it might be difficult issue to regulate. Although IPMBA doesn’t teach or advocate using bikes as an offense weapon, some departments across the country and other training programs do.
That police-brutality marches in this country continue to be needed is reason enough for bike brands to permanently divest from the police, Olzer says.
“This is an entire system that is flawed,” Olzer said. “Bike companies need to see the active role they play in policing and deaths of Black and brown bodies at the hands of law enforcement. [It’s time to] take an active role in dismantling those systems of oppression.”
A petition calling for the bike industry to stop supplying police departments is nearing 5,000 signatures on Wednesday afternoon.
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