Bikes strengthen community ties

Squad car sirens wailed and traffic temporarily came to a halt on West Laurel streets July 11, but not because of crime: Police officers were going for an evening bike ride with local kids as part of an event called Biking with Beasock.

Cpl. James Beasock, a community police officer for District 6 in Prince George's County; and his partner, Cpl. Gerald Knight, organize neighborhood walks and train crime watch groups throughout the district. The biking program is their latest effort to connect with Laurel's youngest residents.

"It seems like a lot of kids today are afraid of police officers," said Beasock. He explained that sirens and flashing lights can make police seem intimidating to young people. His aim is for children to know him by his name and not by his uniform.

The idea behind the bike ride was to come up with an activity that police and children could enjoy together.

"We decided, let's do a bike ride, because all kids like to bike," said Knight.

A ride scheduled in June had to be canceled due to rain.

A group of 40 kids, parents and police officers gathered at Bond Mill Elementary Monday at 6 p.m. for the ride. Knight gave a brief speech about bike safety — telling everyone to wear helmets, stick together and keep to the right of the road — and then they were off, a colorful cluster of kids on two-wheelers, bikes with training wheels, a wheelchair and even a motorized four-wheel mini truck.