Bicycle Officer Part of Marco Police ‘Better Together’ Mantra

Officer George Guyer, Marco Island’s only bicycle patrol officer, says he’s loving life as he cruises the island’s shared use pathways and bike lanes.

During the school year, Guyer is Tommie Barfield Elementary’s school resources officer. During the summer, Guyer patrols the island by bicycle.

“I’ve been primarily the only one doing bike patrol for the police department here on Marco Island,” Officer Guyer said as he sits astride his police bicycle at Residents’ Beach. “This is my dream job. As far as doing police work, I don’t think there is any better place to do it. I’ve said this since day one. This is somewhere that someone should want to come to do a job, and never want to leave. When you get into the politics, it can be frustrating at times. But as far as crime, and the people in general, you get so much support here.”

The police department has had an electric police bicycle for 10 years, but it has been used sporadically in the past. Police Chief Tracy Frazzano likes what she’s seeing and hearing about Guyer’s bicycle patrol.

"By being on the bicycle,” said Chief Frazzano, “Officer Guyer fosters closer police-citizen interaction and engagement. Officer Guyer working with our community is just one example of how we are #BetterTogether.”

Guyer enjoys interacting with the community. People are often surprised to see a police officer on a bicycle.

“I’ve had a few people who didn’t even know that Marco Island has a bike officer,” Officer Guyer said. "Some people, once I go by them, signal me and want to talk to me. I met one lady at the beginning of summer who didn’t know Marco had a bicycle patrol. She was glad to see that we have this. The chief is a big supporter of this and doing the community policing. She sees the value in it - lets me do it."  

Guyer says Chief Frazzano always lets him know when she gets positive reinforcement from the community regarding his bicycle patrol.

"The chief right away forwards the email to me,” Officer Guyer said. "That’s the way she does things. If she gets some positive feedback, she’ll forward it to me. She’ll say, 'See, you are making a positive impact out there. Keep up the good work. Go out there and do what you do. Hearing that goes a long way.”

Officer Guyer is always on the lookout for children under 16 riding without a helmet. 

"Under 16 are required to wear helmets,” Officer Guyer said. "We do run across, I would have to say, more middle-school-aged kids not wearing the helmet. We want to encourage everyone - even adults - to wear helmets. We handle this as an educational thing. Let them know that it is the law. I try to stop those kids from not wearing a helmet.” Chief Frazzano adds “If we see kids without a helmet on, we will give them a free one so that they are in compliance.”

Two local businesses have joined forces with the local police by offering incentives for the kids.

"We try to reward kids who are wearing a helmet,” Officer Guyer said. "We carry these ice cream cards from Sweet Annie’s Ice Cream Shop on Marco Island. We’ll reward the kid that's wearing the helmet and give him a free scoop of ice cream at Sweet Annie’s. That’s a program we’ve partnered with Sweet Annie’s, and it’s worked out well. Now we also have coupons for a free Slurpee at 7-Eleven. The past couple of days I’ve been giving kids the choice, to kind of reward them and encourage them to keep wearing the helmet when they’re out biking.”

“Officer Guyer promotes helmet use to children,” Chief Frazzano said, "provides educational outreach, makes sure that our bicycle lanes are safe from debris and residents feel comfortable approaching him and engaging in conversation.”

Guyer takes his duties on the bike lanes and shared-use pathways seriously.

“For the most part,” Guyer said, "I have been instructed to go out and look for obstructions on the bike paths. That seems to be an issue throughout the island. Overgrowth of bushes and tree branches over the sidewalks and shared pathways. So, I’m keeping an eye open for that and reporting that stuff to code enforcement.”

Guyer notices that the Code Enforcement Department is very busy.

 “Listening to the radio sometimes,” Guyer observes, "it seems that they get more calls than the police officers. They get more complaints for code violations.”

There is one violation that Guyer said pedestrians and bicyclists tend to break more often than others.

"The most common is not waiting for the traffic signal to change for the pedestrians to cross,” Guyer said. "When bicycles are using the shared paths, they are treated as pedestrians. They have to wait for that signal to change. If they’re in the bike path, they’re treated as a motor vehicle. Once again, they have to go with the flow of traffic and obey the traffic laws and traffic signals. That would be the most common violation I see at intersections - and that’s very dangerous when they’re crossing when they’re not supposed to be.”

Guyer said he occasionally sees a bicyclist wearing headphones, but he thinks overall cyclists are aware of the importance of being in touch with their surroundings.

"I think the bicyclists head out wanting to hear what’s going on around them,” Guyer said. "And it’s important that they know their surroundings and they’re able to hear if someone’s trying to signal them or warn them that there’s a potential hazard.”

While he doesn’t encounter a lot of issues at the island’s 300-plus homes that are under construction, Guyer does keep his eye on them. The biggest issue is vehicles blocking the shared pathways.

"The only thing I see at construction sites,” Guyer said, "that I’m paying attention to, is trucks that are blocking the sidewalk. I’ll make it a point to stop and find out who the vehicle owner is and get them to move it. For the most part they’re very compliant. They come down right away and move the vehicle. Sometimes you’ll see vehicles even in the bike lanes. So, we’ll say, ‘Who’s car is this? Let’s get it moved right away.' Kind of an education thing. A lot of these contractors come from all over the state. They’re just here to get a job done. We understand that.”

After two months, Chief Frazzano seems to like the direction of the bicycle patrol.

 "All of these positive contacts,” Chief Frazzano said, "improve police/community relations. Additionally, the mobility of the bicycle allows Officer Guyer to navigate swiftly around the island and create a highly visible presence.”