Pickett accepting his Alice
Award in 2009.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Robert Pickett, a Portland police officer who has endeared himself to many in our community, has accepted a position with the U.S. State Department. Pickett, who announced the news minutes ago at the City of Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, will report for training for his new position in Washington D.C. on May 23rd.

Pickett, 38, will become a Foreign Service Officer and will soon be stationed at a yet-to-be-named U.S. embassy. Pickett will train to become a "Consular Officer," whom the State Department website says are, "Strategic thinkers and crisis managers who protect U.S. citizens and interests abroad." (more...)

Robert Pickett.
(Photo © J. Maus)

So you've seen a nervous-looking young guy riding a too-small high-end racing bike down the street with shoes that definitely don't match the clips. Or maybe you found a bike stashed behind your garage. Or your friend saw your long-lost steed locked to a pole downtown. What's the right thing to do? Should you call the police? Can you keep a bike you find? If someone finds your bike, how do you prove it's yours?

We get emails from readers with these questions at least once a week. We haven't had good answers (besides directing folks to our stolen bike listings), so we asked Portland Police Officer (and occasional BikePortland contributor) Robert Pickett for his advice on what to do if you've found a bike that you think might be stolen. (more...)

Robert Pickett
(Photos � J. Maus)

Robert Pickett is a member of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, an Alice Award nominee, a regular commenter and contributor to the Forums here on BikePortland.org, and he's also a police officer in Portland's Southeast Precinct.

When he's not working in our community, he likes to ride tall bikes.

In the article below, Officer Pickett clarifies the age-old question of whether or not you've got to put your foot down at a stop sign. As a bonus, he also uncovers some important info about yellow lights you might not have been aware of.

(more...)

Robert Pickett
(Photo © J. Maus)

The article below was written by Portland Police Officer Robert Pickett. Pickett -- who regular readers know by his user name "PoPo" (he's a regular commenter and member of the Portland Bike Forums) -- is a former member of the SE Precinct Bicycle Patrol Unit and now works in the Bureau's Neighborhood Response Team division. Pickett is also a former BTA Alice Awards nominee for his dedication to community policing.

Pickett was recently selected by Police Chief Sizer to be an official communications liaison to the community on bicycle issues. On BikePortland.org he previously shared his thoughts on humility and wrote about why cops ride on sidewalks.

(more...)

Robert Pickett.
(Photo © J. Maus)

Robert Pickett is a member of the Portland Bicycle Advisory Committee, an Alice Award nominee, a regular commenter and contributor to the Forums here on BikePortland.org, and he's also a Portland Police Officer.

He previously wrote an article explaining why cops ride on sidewalks.

(more...)

From R to L: Officers Phil Blanchard, Robert Pickett,
Robert Quick, Police Chief Sizer.
(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

At a ceremony this morning in downtown Portland, four members of the Southeast Precinct Bike Patrol Unit were among those recognized at the Chief's Forum Awards -- which intend to "reflect on the value of community policing partnerships". (more...)

SE Bike Patrol officers Pickett
and Quick on Hawthorne Blvd.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Four Portland bike patrol officers will receive recognition for their community policing efforts at the Police Bureau's annual awards ceremony next week.

Officers Phil Blanchard, Robert Quick, Anthony Zanetti and Robert Pickett will be recognized by Chief Rosie Sizer with a "Community Policing/Problem Solving" award for their work as members of the Southeast Bike Patrol unit.

When I asked Officer Pickett about this award, he remained typically humble,

"While I've ended up running with the bike patrol effort the longest and maybe the hardest, the origin of the patrol was a group effort among a number of officers...especially Officer Powell, who's now with Central Precinct."

Last December, I had the pleasure of joining Officers Quick and Pickett for a bike-along and I learned first-hand what an important role they play in our community. (more...)

It all started back in May of 2006 when I read a post to the Portland Bike Forums titled, I was harassed by a cyclist named James this morning.

The post, left by Erica (last name withheld), detailed a scary interaction with a stranger that occurred while she biked to work in downtown Portland. (more...)

[Officers Robert Pickett (L) and Rob Quick (R) on patrol on SE Hawthorne,
October 17, 2006.]

(more...)

[Bike patrol officers stopped
by a Mocktails event
in September 2006.]

Do you think Portland would be a better place if we had more cops patrolling our neighborhoods on bikes rather than in cars and on motorcycles?

I do. I strongly believe that more bike patrols would be a great way to deal with our neighborhood safety issues.

Yet despite their effectiveness and popularity in the community, currently only two of the five Metro-area precincts (Central and Southeast) have an active bike patrol.

During my recent bike-along with Southeast Bike Patrol, the officers told me maybe only "a few dozen" officers have done bike patrol out of 900 or so total officers.
(more...)

[Officers Quick (L) and
Pickett (R) on
Hawthorne Blvd.]

Back in October I joined Officers Rob Quick and Robert Pickett of the Portland Police Bureau for a bike-along.

Pickett and Quick are on the Southeast Portland Bike Patrol whose enforcement boundaries cover everything from SE Hawthorne Blvd. to I-84, and I-205 down to the Esplanade.

I wanted to gain a perspective on the streets from a bike cop's point-of-view, learn more about the bike patrol, get to know the officers a little better, and compare this experience to my previous ride-along in a patrol car back in August.
(more...)