Santa Rosa police get electric motorcycles

The motorcycles hardly made a sound as Santa Rosa Police Officers Jason Brandt and Steve Pehlke turned off the Joe Rodota Trail and rode down a dirt path, pulling up to the foot of a newly established illegal camp in the bushes along the Santa Rosa Creek.

Dustin Voorhes, 30, and four others were still seated in a circle outside their tents when the officers arrived Tuesday afternoon. Coats and sleeping bags hung to dry from tree branches all around them. Nearly a dozen bicycles were piled up behind the tent at the campsite they established several days ago after these same officers asked the group to move away from the railroad tracks.

'When I come back at 10 o'clock tomorrow, I don't want this to be here,' said Pehlke, who said he hoped they would seek shelter and not start another camp.

'I got a storage unit,' Voorhes said.

'What are you going to use to move things, wagons?' Bradt asked.

'I got shopping carts,' said Voorhes, who said he has been homeless since he was released from jail about eight months ago.

Offering a tactical advantages of stealth and the ability to go off road, two new electric motorcycles were added two weeks ago to the Santa Rosa Police Department's fleet, adding to a small number of local law enforcement agencies using alternative fuel vehicles.

While the motorcycles will be used instead of bicycles in some situations, they don't spell the end of bike patrols, Santa Rosa's traffic Sgt. Ryan Corcoran said.

Officers will still use bikes to patrol downtown and they continue to be the best mode of transportation to check narrow alleyways and to get around during events such as the weekly summertime downtown market, he said.

An officer on a bicycle is essentially out of commission for incidents beyond a certain range because of how long it might take to pedal back to the station and get into a patrol car. The new motorcycles are highway ready.

Made by the Santa Cruz-based Zero Motorcycles, the Zero FX Police ZF6.5 can reach 85 mph and can sustain about 70 mph, according to specs provided to the police department. One charge can get an officer 82 miles in town or 50 mph on the highway.

The motorcycles cost $29,311.50, including all ancillary costs such as installation, accessories, tax and delivery. They were paid for by a U.S. justice department grant.

Sebastopol police had the first electric off-road motorcycle in Sonoma County, which they have had since at least 2012 and was a prototype made by the Santa Cruz-company Zero Motorcycles, Chief Jeff Weaver said. The department has since also added two unmarked Ford Escape Hybrids patrol cars to its fleet.

The plug-in motorcycle is most useful for patrolling parks and trails, including the Sebastopol end of the Joe Rodota path, Weaver said.

'We primarily use it in our parks, especially in the parks that adjoin the Laguna, city parks and some county parks — our officers patrol both of those,' Weaver said.

The zero tailpipe emissions suits Sebastopol, and 'especially in this community, the people just love it,' Weaver said.

Cloverdale police used to have two hybrids, but in 2008 the prior chief opted to trade them in because the vehicles did not perform well, Chief Stephen Cramer said.

Rohnert Park, Petaluma, and Healdsburg police departments and the Sonoma County Sheriff's office reported they aren't currently using any alternative fuel vehicles, although many other city and county agencies do.

Since Nov. 24, Santa Rosa officers have used the motorcycles to patrol rural areas from Fountaingrove to areas around Annadel to downtown Santa Rosa. They've been used during surprise visits to people on probation and to check downtown parking garages, particular during the holiday shopping season, Corcoran said.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.