Sheriff told the Law Enforcement Committee on Oct. 9 that Coffee County is acquiring law-enforcement motorcycles, equipping them and sending two deputies for specialized training to improve enforcement on county roads.

“We're in the process of buying the equipment to go on the box, and then we'll have to bring them and scribe them,” the sheriff said, adding that two deputies will receive specialized law-enforcement motor training “in the next week or 2.”

The sheriff said the motorcycles are intended primarily for moving-radar enforcement on county roads to address speeding and reckless driving that have caused fatalities and serious injuries. He said the motorcycles will be funded from “some special funds that some drug dealers have give us,” not from the general fund.

He warned the program will result in more citations for high-speed violations. “Once you start getting in somebody's pocketbook, they're gonna slow down,” the sheriff said, and said he expects citations approaching $400 for extreme speeding violations.

Equipment will initially be hardened box-mounted radar units; the sheriff said the department may later add handheld LIDAR, which requires additional certification. He described the motorcycles as more maneuverable than patrol cars on rural roads and said the office will evaluate the program and declare surplus any motorcycles that do not produce results.

The sheriff also described non-traffic uses for the motorcycles: funeral escorts, special-event traffic control and community outreach at schools. He said the motorcycles should “pay for themselves” through enforcement and operational utility.

Committee members asked about pursuit policy, funding and deployment; the sheriff said deputies will continue ordinary patrol duties while motorcycles perform targeted moving-radar enforcement. No formal vote was taken on the motorcycle purchases at the meeting.