Law enforcement officers from around the state and as far as Nevada plan to compete once again in the Citrus Heights Police Department’s annual motorcycle competition and safety fair event at Sunrise Mall on Aug. 27. The event will be held in honor of fallen officers and will also feature family-friendly attractions like a helicopter landing and a kids zone.
“The entire theme of the competition is going to be ‘the thin blue line,’” said Traffic Sgt. Kris Frey. “We’re trying to honor all the officers fallen nationwide, specifically with this competition we’re honoring motor officers who’ve gone down.”
The free Saturday event will be held on Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sunrise Mall parking lot, just south of Elephant Bar. The safety fair will feature around 20 different booths and activities, including a driving simulator, helmet-fitting station, bicycle course, and a “half peddle car course” in the kids zone.
Sacramento Police Department’s “Air 1” helicopter is also scheduled to land around 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, according to police.
The 4th annual event began in 2013 as a way for police to gain training and demonstrate motorcycle skills, while providing an opportunity for the public to learn about safety and watch officers compete, Sgt. Frey said.
At least 40 officers have already signed up to participate in this year’s competition and will arrive on Friday for training and practice runs through orange safety cone patterns. They’ll then “step it up a bit” the next day and “put on a good show for the citizens,” the sergeant said.
The main part of the competition will be a speed course, where officers will seek to quickly maneuver their motorcycles through paths of tight turns and cone patterns. Other courses will be a “two-man relay” and the most popular “last man standing” competition, where all contestants will cram into a small square of cones and ride until the last one touches a foot to the ground.
Fitting with the event theme, Sgt. Frey said a “slow zone” competition course will be in the design of a blue ribbon. The small course is designed to test officers’ balance on their bikes, with contestants creeping through cones at a snail’s pace — attempting the slowest time possible.
Unlike prior years, police said the last man standing competition will be held in the middle of the day, rather than at the end. Bleachers to watch the competition will also not be provided this year, but attendees will be able to watch from the sidelines.
Although the event is free to the public, police said any proceeds will go to support the Citrus Heights Police Activities League (PAL) a local nonprofit which seeks to build positive relationships between police officers and youth by participating in various activities in the community. As part of the fundraising effort, Sgt. Frey said PAL volunteers will be barbecuing hotdogs and hamburgers for sale during the event.
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Police said prior events have drawn up to 2,000 people and raised several thousand dollars for PAL. The events have also left CHPD with several awards earned by competing officers each year.
The annual event is sponsored by CHPD, Sunrise Mall and Marketplace, and the Citrus Heights Police Activities League.
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Event flier: Safetyfair.pdf
