The Dallas Police Department was one of the first major
police departments in the country to begin using motorcycles in the fight
against crime. Detroit, Michigan is generally thought to be the first to
actually use motorcycles with police officers riding bikes instead of horses.
The City of Dallas of course continued using Mounted Units for many years, then
phasing them out in favor of much cheaper to maintain police cars, only to
bring them back in the 1980’s and luckily, we still have them today.
In 1909 however Police Commissioner Harry Seay said that two
motorcycles would be delivered for use by the DPD. The officers riding them
would answer “hurry” calls and would be able to overtake speeding automobiles.
He also said that he had not decided who would actually ride the machines. It
could be someone from within the police department, but it might be necessary
to hire someone from outside the department who already knew how to ride.
The Police Commissioner said that the men selected must be
able to operate the motorcycles with sufficient speed to catch vehicles and still
avoid any accidents to themselves or pedestrians whom they may encounter.
On May 15, 1909 the DMN reported that six members of the DPD
have been selected to begin training immediately. The six riders with the two
bikes would give the department two shifts of two officers with an extra shift
in case of an emergency. It’s not known whether two of the officers would just
hang around until an emergency came up, or maybe the emergency would be when
one of the six would call in sick.
On May 21, 1909, after only six days, it was reported that
the training was completed (?) and that the officers were “at least sufficiently”
skilled to warrant placing the “wheels” in commission. It also said that the
two machines (Harley-Davidson’s) were being stored at the “old calaboose.”
Unfortunately it wasn’t long before the first accident
happened. On July 16, 1909 Officer August Schulz was thrown from his mount at the
intersection of Main and Poydras streets about 3 P.M after avoiding a “large
man.” He was unconscious for about half an hour. A citizen, E.H.R. Green, who
was described as driving a “big red machine,” took the injured officer to the
City Hall emergency hospital. DPD Detectives Tanner and Price who witnessed the
accident assisted the citizen.
The doctor examining the officer said that the handlebar of
the bike had almost fractured a rib as the officer fell on it. His uniform was
torn and he had several scrapes and bruises with a large patch of skin torn
away from his right knee. In about an hour the officer was back on his feet and
went back to the location of the accident. The bike was being guarded and the shaken
officer straightened the handlebar of the “wheel” and rode away it was
reported.
In 1923 the DMN wrote that the sales and service of the
police departments Harley-Davidson’s had been taken over by John S. Berryman
who was the new sales manager at the Harley-Davidson Sales Company at Pearl and
Jackson streets.
Fast forward to 1929.
There is a five day Harley-Davidson sales conference at the Jefferson Hotel in
downtown Dallas. About 30 dealers from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana were
attending the meeting. Arthur Davidson, one of the original founders was there
along with his brother, William A. (Old Bill) Davidson. Arthur told the audience
that included police officials that “It is not the number of arrests that a
motorcycle policeman would make that would prevent accidents, but it is that he
can be seen and will prevent motorists from speeding.” He went on to say that “An
officer in a car can’t always be seen (?) But an officer on a motorcycle on the
Oak Cliff viaduct the other night might have prevented the accident in which
one man was killed and eleven others injured.”
Fast forward one more time to January, 1935. The Dallas city
council voted to buy three new Harley-Davidson police motorcycles for a total
cost of $1,265. What is strange is that the City purchased two three wheeler
police bikes at a cost of $1,063. These two were Indians, not H-D Servi-Cars.
There is the famous picture of a DPD officer on an Indian three-wheeler with
his faithful German Shepard sitting on the box with his paw on the mounted officer’s
shoulder, this is one of those machines. To my knowledge, this is the only time
that the DPD had purchased Indian police vehicles, either the two wheeled, or
the three wheeled variety. Why it happened is anybody’s guess. It could be that
the local Indian dealer made a great offer to the City to gain a foothold into
what had always been Harley’s domain with the DPD since 1909.
That is until the late 1970’s, which is another story, for
another time.
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