Boston Police Department

364 Warren Street
Roxbury, MA 02119

By Sgt. Brian Fleming

Boston, the capital city of Massachusetts is known as "the Hub" or "Beantown." It is a coastal city with a population of approximately 600,000 people and has a large college community. The Boston Police Department is the oldest Police Dept. in the United States dating back to 1630. It currently has 2,200 sworn officers.

The motorcycle unit is called The Mobile Operations Patrol and has approximately 50 officers with 1 Lieutenant, 5 Sergeants and 44 officers. We ride Harley Davidson Road King motorcycles. The officers in the unit ride year round unless the ground is covered in snow and ice. If the roadways are clear, we ride no matter what the temperature.

One of the unique functions of this unit, is we are also the Department's SWAT team also known as the Boston Police Entry and Apprehension Team. When the Entry Team was formed back in the 1980's, the theory was that if cycles were dispersed throughout the city and there was a callout, that the motorcycles could get back quickly and suit up to go to the situation. This seems to have worked well over the years. We have had a particularly busy year, with 35 callouts through April.

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Boston the end of July. We have been preparing for months, as the motorcycle unit will play a role in the safety and security of those in attendance. (The DNC held their convention in Boston July 2004)

Over the years we have escorted many presidents from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush. We have been told many times by the Secret Service that we are the best in the country when it comes to escorts but I'm sure we are not alone in that regard.

Two out of the last three years we have had to escort the New England Patriots during their Super Bowl victory parades with over 1 million people attending and yes, we are still waiting to escort the Red Sox for that World Series Victory Parade. Maybe this is the year! - UPDATE... IT WAS THE YEAR!!.. see photos of Boston Police Department at Fenway Park.

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