JOLIET — In the late 1970s, a television crime drama followed the adventures of Frank “Ponch” Poncherello and Jon Baker as the two California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops solved crimes on the Los Angeles freeways. Today, the Joliet Police Department has its own version of the “CHiPs guys.”
More than 40 years after “CHiPs” aired on TV, motorcycles remain a regular part of the Joliet Police Department, especially during the summer. Motorcycles have been a key part of the Joliet Police Department for approximately 100 years, and black and white photos of Joliet’s motorcycles from the 1930s are displayed at the bottom of this article.
“The public loves it,” remarked Joliet Police Officer John Byrne, a member of the motorcycle patrol for over three years. “We get a lot of thumbs up and waves. It’s a great public relations tool. People are a lot more receptive to talk to you on a motorcycle cycle.”
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Considered an elite unit within the Joliet police ranks, only 50 to 60 officers in the department’s history have ever served in the unit. Officers undergo a rigorous training instruction program in Milwaukee at the Harley-Davidson Northwestern Police Motorcycle training.
Joliet’s police motorcycles are typically used from Easter through Thanksgiving weekend —when thousands of people line downtown Joliet’s Chicago Street to watch the annual Light Up the Holidays Parade to kick off Joliet’s Christmas season.
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Joliet’s motorcycle unit includes Officers Robert “Bob” Casares, John Byrne, Frank Wascher and the newest member, Ryan Smith. Casares has served on the Joliet police motorcycle unit for more than 20 years.
Wascher joined the unit in 2019, Byrne in 2021 and Smith, earlier this year.
What do Joliet police use the motorcycles for?
During a recent group interview at the downtown station, the officers explained how the motorcycles are used for parades and city neighborhood events, as well as funerals and military escorts. In May, Casares represented the Joliet Police Department motorcycle fleet in Washington, D.C. at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
The four Joliet officers said they are extremely grateful that the police administration is a strong advocate of the motorcycle unit. The city of Joliet purchased two new Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 2023 and the department is hoping to add a couple more new motorcycles over the next year.
“We do have support from our administration, and they do want us to be out and using them,” Wascher said. “It makes us more approachable and I think the community likes that. When the public sees us doing enforcement, just trust us like you do when you’re seeing a patrol car.”
Because some of Joliet’s motorcycles are 19 years old now, they’re relegated to training purposes now that the new motorcycles are available for daily street use.
‘You Have To Believe In That Motorcycle’
Officer Ryan Smith said the intense training he underwent at the Harley-Davidson riding school in Milwaukee has helped him become a much better motorcycle officer.
“Motorcycle training was probably the toughest training I ever went through mentally and physically. You have to believe in that motorcycle,” Smith explained.
Joliet’s four motorcycle officers say they are able to conduct traffic enforcement details watching for motorists involved in distracted driving using their cell phones, open alcohol, drunken driving, motorists not using seatbelts and speeding.
“And if we get a traffic jam somewhere, we can get to any emergency situation a lot faster,” Casares explained.
“The motorcycles can be brought in for crowd control and moving through crowds,” Wascher pointed out.
As of last week, the Joliet Police Department had about 260 officers, and the city is authorized to have up to 286. The motorcycle officers are hopeful that Joliet can continue to expand the motorcycle fleet and train even more officers to operate the motorcycles.
“I would like to see 10 motorcycles as a unit,” Casares suggested.
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Casares said one of the great aspects of the motorcycle unit is that it “builds better relations and trust” with the community.
Joliet’s motorcycle unit has also been working with producers of the television show “Chicago P.D.” allowing for the use of Joliet’s outdated motorcycles to be detailed with the “Chicago PD.” logo.
Most recently, Joliet’s older motorcycles were used for the filming of a Chicago P.D. production called “Mr. Comeback,” a story about basketball star Seth Curry set to air in August on the Peacock channel.
Joliet’s officers are hopeful that moving forward, the Joliet Police Department will continue to work closely and continue its relationship with the producers of “Chicago P.D.” perhaps allowing for more television and filming opportunities involving the Joliet police motorcycles.
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