Police Motorcycle


Escort Training Central Florida Regional PPD


SUBMITTED BY


CORPORAL EDWARD KELLY, ORANGE COUNTY (FL) SHERIFF’S OFFICE


I


n October, 2013 the Florida Highway Patrol Troop D, in conjunction with the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, hosted the Cen- tral Florida Regional Presidential Protection Detail –Police Motorcycle Escort Training/Certification. At least 15 Law Enforcement agencies were rep-


resented by more than 105 motorcycle officers riding their agency-issued Harley-Davidson®


Police motor- cycles. The agencies included the Orlando, Tampa and


Jacksonville, Florida Highway Patrol troops, Sheriff’s offices from Flagler County, Indian River County, Volusia County, St. John’s County and Clay County, and Police departments of Belle Isle, Oviedo, Sebastian, St. Cloud and Daytona Beach Shores. The purpose of the training was to outline and familiarize


the police motorcycle operator with a Presidential escort. A police motorcycle officer will not normally participate in a presidential escort detail without having first obtained this important training/certification. The President and Vice President of the United States regu-


larly travel to Central Florida throughout the year. During an election year, there are numerous visits to the Orlando area by presidential candidates. The “I-4 Corridor” is considered a very important political battleground and is a major destination for these VIPs. These visits are very labor intensive and require many hours of preparation. The visit, or presidential escort, is known as a PPD —presidential protection detail. During the 2012 presidential campaign season, Central


Florida police motor squads including the Florida Highway Patrol-Troop D, Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office, as well as many other agencies, worked together in more than 30 PPDs, which included


12 THE MOTOR OFFICER™ | SPRING 2014


escorts as far away as Tampa. A PPD requires members of the law enforcement com-


munity, and most importantly, the motorcycle units, to work within a uniform script including radio discipline, tactical objectives and a teamwork concept to complete the mission. There are times when more than 150 police motorcycles could be utilized to complete a PPD, requiring all members of the escort to work as one team under one unified command. The 2013 PPD training began at the JetBlue administra-


tion building auditorium at Orlando International Airport with a member of the United States Secret Service-Orlando


THE PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION DETAIL PRESENTATION OUTLINED THE EXPECTATIONS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MOTORCYCLE OFFICER REQUIRED DURING AN ESCORT.


Field Office giving a presentation and describing the presiden- tial “package.” The presentation outlined the expectations, duties and responsibilities of the motorcycle officer required during an escort, including a description of specific vehicles, the placement of vehicles, the purpose of certain vehicles and nomenclature of the vehicles within the “package.” The Secret Service also addressed the planning stages of a presidential visit, which begin more than a week prior to the actual visit; and the escort is the “most intensive” part


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