Berkeley County Sheriff's Office Adds Motorcycle Units to Help Enforce Traffic Laws

BERKELEY COUNTY, SC (WCBD) – The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has added four Harley-Davidson motorcycles to help ensure people follow the rules of the road.

The motorcycles, which are now part of the department's traffic unit, will strengthen traffic enforcement by targeting speeding, aggressive behavior and drivers under the influence of alcohol.

Sheriff Duane Lewis said when he was elected sheriff, the main complaint he heard was about drug problems in the area. Now he hears about traffic problems.

“That became our number one complaint. So with that number of complaints and the number of people that are now in Berkeley County, I had to address that issue,” he said.

“They're fully marked, but people aren't looking for the motorcycles. They're looking for the regular police car,” said Sergeant Paul Ya'Covozzi of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office. “They're visible, but not really visible because no one's really looking for them.”

The deputies assigned to this team were moved from other vehicles and underwent extensive motorcycle training.

“These guys can go into areas that a regular Chevrolet Tahoe or a police car can't go into. They can maneuver in and out of traffic and they're specially trained to do that,” said Sergeant Ya'Covozzi.

Last year, the Berkeley County Council approved nearly $155,000 for the Harleys. During the Independence Day holiday, they'll be out on patrol as much as possible.

“These vehicles specifically target complaint areas. Complaints sent to the sheriff send them to me and I send them to them. They go into those areas and enforce traffic laws. They watch for aggressive, distracted and impaired drivers,” he said.

Motorized units will be on the roads from now until the end of this weekend to respond to citizen complaints and enforce laws.