UTPA PD gets motorcycles, redesigned uniforms

Senior Sgt. Bryan Miller looks forward to the day he will be able to weave through 5 p.m. Sugar Road traffic jams.
This will soon be possible because the University Police Department recently acquired two motorcycles.
A pair of Kawasaki KZ 1000s were transferred to department from the UT Dallas force. After they had been sitting in a garage for over a year, Assistant Chief James Loya believes that they will finally be put to use later this semester.
Miller will be the first to receive proper training to use the motorcycles, as the police officer responsible for traffic safety initiatives.
According to Chief Roger Stearns, the police department wants to start stressing the importance of crosswalks to students in order to prevent jaywalking.
Loya wants students to know that having the motorcycles will benefit the campus and allow police officers to navigate traffic congestion.
“I think having them out on the street is going to give us a better way of servicing the community by monitoring those areas and increasing our patrols,” he said.
The department operates as an agency under the UT System. UT Dallas police recently ended its use of motorcycles, so two of them were transferred to UTPA as system property.
“I think the motorcycles are an added resource that’s going to help us better address the needs of the community,” said Stearns.
Miller, an avid motorcyclist, has already taken the course to obtain his license. He is now required to take a higher-level course that trains police officers to deal with dangerous situations, such as avoiding traffic accidents during rush hour.
“I’m a little bit antsy about riding in our parking lots because they’re tight spaces and lots of students are always backing out,” said Miller. “The students might not see me but I just have to ride like I’m invisible. An old man told me a long time ago, ‘ride like you’re invisible because most of the time you are.’ I’ve always remembered that.”
The next safety course offered locally is in March, according to Loya. Once Miller receives the proper training, the policy and procedure papers for using the cycles needs to be approved by the UT System.
Along with the new motorcycles, the police department has also received a uniform redesign.
All of the UT System police departments wear the same color and fabric of uniform. When a new director was appointed for the overall UT System police, he made the decision to change the design and material of uniforms for all police departments.
“I was excited about being in a new, more traditional uniform,” Stearns said. “Our appearance is updated to better reflect a functional duty uniform as opposed to the longstanding polyester. It’s just a better uniform.”
The System mandated some regulations for officer attire.
“We were mainly looking for how comfortable the (new uniforms) were going to be,” Loya said. “Being down here in South Texas, as hot as it is, the cooling factor was a big issue too, as well as the fabric.”
By October 2014, all UT System police officers are required to wear the uniform.
“So far, I like the uniform. The polyester we wore before wasn’t very nice, not very comfortable,” commented Miller. “Right now the uniforms are like a cotton, lightweight, and breathable…. it’s like a BDU. Like in the military. I was in the military, so I like them.”