Community members learned the benefits of using motorcycles for law enforcement work during Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset’s “Coffee with the Chief” program on Wednesday.

Nasset and Investigations Capt. Doug Overman gave a presentation of one of the police department’s two motorcycles.

“The primary objective of motorcycles is traffic enforcement,” Overman explained.

Main Street in Kalispell has a parallel parking layout, high traffic volume, and red light setup that makes it difficult to set up a patrol car and lay in wait for lawbreakers, the chief and the captain explained. More than 30,000 cars travel the road each day.

“It’s one of the biggest complaints I get,” Nasset said. “You have people running red lights on Main Street like crazy.”

In 2007 the department decided to buy two motorcycles because they are more easily concealed and maneuverable for traffic stops. The vehicles worked so well that two new motorcycles were purchased in 2014.

“They are a really effective tool,” Overman said.

Nearly every part of the Yamaha FJR 1300 bike is tailored specifically for police work. It is quieter and has a cooling system that is helpful for avoiding overheating during long, slow patrol events such as parades. It is equipped with a camera that automatically downloads its footage into the cloud when it pulls up behind the police station.

The helmets used with the motorcycle have face masks that slide up so the officer can have face-to-face time with the citizen he’s interacting with, rather than interacting through a piece of plastic. A shoulder microphone on the officer’s body and a microphone on the motorcycle automatically know where the officer is during the course of a traffic stop and turn on and off automatically so that the officer can communicate with dispatchers seamlessly. A special radar unit allows the officer to check the speed of vehicles without stopping.

Though the bike is well-equipped for patrol, there is still a lot of extra work that goes into operating the motorcycles.

Overman had to take a motorcycle patrol course that he says is the most intensive training program he has undergone in his 16 years in law enforcement.

Once the course is passed, officers still have to deal with dangerous driving conditions.

“People just don’t see motorcycles,” Overman said.

When he rode on motorcycle patrol, Overman said that he would have an average of one person per day pull out in front of him or nearly hit him, despite the fact that the patrol officers wear bright neon vests.

Overall, the motorcycles have helped enforce traffic violations, Nasset and Overman said. The bikes cost around $25,000 each.

Traffic stops are meant to deter behavior that contributes to accidents, Nasset said. The department works an average of 1,500 accidents per year, almost all of which take at least an hour of work.

“That’s a lot of manpower,” Nasset said.

In addition to the motorcycle presentation, Nasset spoke about the department’s recent issues with transient camps in Lawrence Park, ongoing theft problems, the causes and effects of overcrowding at the Flathead County Detention Center, and the department’s recent purchase of body cameras.

Nasset hosts “Coffee with the Chief” the second Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at Sykes Diner. It is a roundtable discussion about law enforcement issues in the community.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.