Motor Patrol                   Gallery

For more information, please contact Captain Mike Frank, (920) 322-3720.

Motorcycles in police departments became popular after World War II.  In earlier times, the Fond du Lac Police Department had as many or more motorcycles than patrol cars.  The traffic department was a permanent assignment, riding year round.  If the cycle was not a 3 wheeler, a sidecar was added for slippery Wisconsin roads in the winter. 

In August of 1975, Motor Officer Bill Kuru (Ret.) was involved in an accident.  He received a serious leg injury but, after surgery and rehab, he was able to return to work.  By that time, however, the cycles had been eliminated.  Although the injury was not the only reason, it surely was a big factor.  During 1976, the last cycles were replaced with right-hand drive Jeeps.  The motor patrol officer became a thing of the past, until April of 2000.

The Department had been using a motorcycle for 10 years through the D.A.R.E. program.  The motorcycle was donated by Bob's Harley-Davidson to be used exclusively in the D.A.R.E. program.  It was riden to schools and other community events related to the program.  All costs associated with the use of the cycle were covered by D.A.R.E.

In early 1999, with newly appointed Chief Johnson being a former Harley owner, a renewed interest in police motors surfaced.  After much research and discussion, the Department was able to obtain four 2000 Police Road Kings from Bob’s Harley-Davidson in Fond du Lac .  The lease was modeled after another dealer program in Wisconsin.  Three of the motorcycles were assigned to patrol, and the fourth was again assigned to D.A.R.E., which is part of Community Services.

Currently, the Fond du Lac Police Department has two motor units on the road, thanks to the generosity of Pete and Lori at Open Road Harley Davidson of Fond du Lac.