ORANGE COUNTY


SUBMITTED BY: CORPORAL EDWARD KELLY


SHERIFF’S OFFICE MOTOR UNIT


OCSO Motor Unit Late 1920s


range County, FL has over 1 million residents and more than 50 million tourists vis- iting each year throughout the Sheriff’s Offi ce jurisdic- tion of more than 1,000 square miles. Some of the major tourist attractions within Orange County include Sea World-Orlando and the Walt Disney World Resort, which itself is


approximately 40 square miles. Orange County also includes 10 other municipalities with their own police departments. Orange County Sheriff’s deputies began patrolling on


motorcycles between 1927 and 1928. The fi rst motorcycle squad was given the title of “Transportation Unit” and con- sisted of six motorcycles. By the 1960s the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce (OCSO) motorcycle unit was titled the “Motor Squad,” and during the ’60s and ’70s it continued efforts in traffi c enforcement and utilized Harley-Davidson®


motorcycles


as a means of enforcement transportation. Between the ’80s and ’90s the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce expanded in man- power to approximately 25 personnel assigned to the Motor Squad. Enforcement efforts also expanded with emphasis not only on traffi c enforcement, but also DUI enforcement. During the mid-90s the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce


16 THE MOTOR OFFICER™ | SPRING 2014


Motor Squad was renamed the “Motor Unit”. The Motor Unit today falls within the Special Operations Division of the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce. The unit currently consists of 55 members including fi ve motor squads under the command of one lieutenant, fi ve sergeants and fi ve corporals, all certi- fi ed motorcycle offi cers. There are 24 full-time certifi ed motor offi cers within the fi ve squads and an additional 20 part-time reserve certifi ed motor offi cers, known as “cross-trainers.” The cross-trained reserve motor offi cers consist of deputy


sheriffs assigned to other full-time units within the Sheriff’s Offi ce, including detectives from Narcotics, Homicide, Auto- Theft, Property Crimes, Anti-Tactical Crimes Squad, Uniform Patrol and other units. The Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce Motor Unit currently has a fl eet of 63 Harley-Davidson® Road King®


FLHP motorcycles. Most of the Road King® motorcycles


are individually assigned to the full-time and reserve motor offi - cers. Several motorcycles are positioned at the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce Law Enforcement Vehicle Operations (LEVO) training complex in Mt. Dora, FL, and others are stored at the Motor Unit’s main offi ce on 33rd Street in Orlando. The Central Florida weather offers an ideal riding climate


year round, which includes winter temperatures in the low to mid-40s and summer temperatures to the upper 90s, allowing the Orange County Sheriff’s Offi ce Motor Squad to perform daily traffi c enforcement duties on their assigned motorcycles.


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