Motorcycle patrol shows different side of OPD
BY RACHEL WADDICK
OCT. 30, 2007

Sgt. Jon Varley has been riding motorcycles and dirt bikes since he was 7, Sgt. Ryan Sikora since he was 6, and Officer Josh Jenkins since he was the tender age of 5.

And all of them are still riding.

Varley was the first to become an official member of the Oxford Police Department’s (OPD) motorcycle patrol. After coming to the OPD in 1996 from Germantown, Ohio where he worked from 1994-1995, Varley knew his childhood experience with motorcycles could prove useful in forming an official motorcycle patrol.

“I’m the only one in my family that’s into them, but a friend of mine loved to go riding, and it rubbed off on me,” said Varley. “I’ve been riding ever since.”

Varley lived in Centerville, OH until he was in the sixth grade, then moved to Texas, California, and eventually back home to Ohio. While the constant moves were tough on him, Varley said his constant interest in motorcycles provided a positive focus.

“Riding was one thing that was consistent in my life,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I love it so much.”

When Varley arrived at the OPD, the department owned one Honda motorcycle which it that the department had confiscated. But there was no one to ride it.

“The chief knew I liked motorcycles and that I had experience with them. It was a logical choice for me to start the patrol,” Varley said.

A few months after Varley became the first member of the motorcycle patrol, the OPD acquired a 1996 Kawasaki. Stillt, Varley was the only officer who was qualified to ride.

“It was a rough process because our manpower was so low. We didn’t have enough people at the department as a whole to justify a large motorcycle patrol. But with the new hires we’ve made, the problem was solved,” he said. “We knew eventually others would come along with an interest to ride.”

Sikora was the next official member of the patrol, joining in 2000. Growing up in a small town in eastern Ohio and attending Frostberg State University in Maryland, Sikora had no intention of becoming a police officer.

“I majored in political science and criminal justice. I wanted to be involved in federal law enforcement. It’s obvious that things change, huh?” he said.

Failing to secure a job, Sikora attended the Police Academy. During his last week there, he heard of a job opening at the OPD, applied for the job and got it. He has been a police officer in Oxford for ten years, but has only been riding for the last seven.

“It’s great here, and it’s great being on the motorcycle patrol,” Sikora said. “I love to ride, so why not be paid to do what you love?”

While doing what he loves, Sikora fell in love as well. He met his wife, Shelly, when he first arrived at the OPD and she was a part-time officer.

The newest recruit for the OPD’s motorcycle patrol, Jenkins, has been with the department for a year and a half. Before he joined the OPD, he worked in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Arlington Heights, and says that the move to Oxford has been a good one.

“It’s a better environment here. I stay busy, time goes by quickly, and I get to meet a lot of different people,” he said.

Like his motorcycle-patrolling peers, Jenkins was exposed to dirt bikes when he was only 5 years old, and has been riding ever since. He attended Tiffin University and majored in business management, but has always been interested in law enforcement.

“I remember writing term papers about law enforcement in high school,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins has a cousin who is a police officer in Jacksonberg, Ohio, and his great-grandfather was the chief of police in Germantown.

“I guess it runs in the family,” he said.

Jenkins, who started riding in August, said patrolling on a motorcycle is a nice break from the normal.

Since Varley founded the motorcycle patrol, OPD has acquired an additional 1997 Kawasaki. Both motorcycles are in good shape; the 1996 Kawasaki has approximately 7,000 miles on it, while the 1997 has only about 5,000.

Major advancements in police-oriented motorcycles showed up recently in the form of police motorcycle packages. Kawasaki, Honda, BMW, and Harley-Davidson now all offer these packages, which include motorcycles with larger generators for running the sirens and the lights, bigger motors for increased speed of up to 120 miles per hour, radio equipment.

Although no officer has ever been involved in an accident while on patrol, Sikora did end up with 12 staples in his knee about three years ago after crashing whilein a pursuit on the motorcycle.

The OPD, along with helicopter and motorcycle support, had been chasing a runaway juvenile for a half an hour. The department lost track of the juvenile and had called off pursuit, when Sikora turned behind a building on south College Avenue and saw him. Sikora quickly contacted the department via radio and followed the juvenile. The boy entered a dense forest-like area, and Sikora realized he could not maneuver the motorcycle into the brush. He jumped off of the motorcycle and followed the juvenile on foot, following him over a 5-foot wall. When Sikora jumped, he landed on his knee in the creek and sustained an injury that put him off of the job for two weeks.

“The funny thing was that my radio was dead because it got wet from the creek and was destroyed,” said Sikora. “I had to walk back up the bank and sit by the road for someone to find me.”

The motorcycle patrol is still looking to acquire additional members, but is satisfied with its development to date.

“Most departments as small as us don’t have the luxury of a motorcycle patrol,” said Varley. “We’re fortunate.”

“While our patrol isn’t that large, we really enjoy being a part of it,” said Varley. “How many people can say they get to do every day what they loved to do as a kid? Not that many. But we do.”