DEPUTY TAKES PATROL JOB INTO BACKCOUNTRY ON BIKE.Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer Dressed in helmet, boots and plastic body armor Noun 1. body armor - armor that protects the wearer's whole body body armour, cataphract, coat of mail, suit of armor, suit of armour armet - a medieval helmet with a visor and a neck guard , Deputy Nolan Stoyko looks more like a character out of a ``Mad Max'' movie than a sheriff's deputy. But for the last two years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time 37-year-old motorcycle officer has been part of the eight-member Off-Road Detail, an elite Sheriff's Department unit that patrols the backcountry back·coun·try n. A sparsely inhabited rural region. on dirt bikes. And as tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. as the job sounds, Stoyko takes his job of patrolling the hills and valleys of eastern Ventura County very seriously. ``When we go out, we don't go out to hot-rod,'' he said. ``We're out there to enforce the law, and it's an extension of our regular job.'' The 20-year-old Off-Road Detail patrols areas inaccessible to patrol cars, four-wheel drives or motorcycles. Most of their calls are prompted by complaints from property owners about dirt-bikers, hot-rodders and revelers trespassing in the hills around Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. and Moorpark. ``Probably the biggest thing we do is the educational thing about contacting the riders and telling them where they can and can't ride, because a lot of them don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. they're on private property or property owned by the city or the county,'' said Sgt. Ron Tusi, who has headed the detail since 1995. Trespassers are usually given a warning, then cited if they are contacted again, Tusi said. As a result, the detail issued only about a dozen citations last year. The busiest time for the detail is during the holidays, especially the Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. , when revelers hit the backcountry to party and sometimes set off fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to that could spark brush fires, officials said. Although there is no formal training for the detail, the officers must demonstrate their skill in riding dirt bikes. ``Prior experience is really sought after in the recruitment process,'' said Capt. Gary Pentis, a former member who oversees the detail. ``Some of our best riders are officers with less police experience, but who have demonstrated skills in off-road riding.'' For example, he said, Deputies Kris Waters and Glen Axelrod - two younger members of the crew - recently won gold and bronze medals respectively at motocross motocross Form of motorcycle racing in which cyclists compete on a closed course marked out over natural or simulated rough terrain. Courses vary widely but must be 1.5–5 km (1–3 mi) in length, with steep inclines, hairpin turns, and mud. competitions near San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. . Each of the officers on the detail hit the backcountry only as an overtime duty - which last year cost taxpayers $10,000. Additionally special gear for each officer costs $2,000, Pentis said. It includes a full-face helmet with a radio microphone, uniform, jacket, gloves, boots, and plastic chest, shin and knee protectors. The detail's costs are financed by a special fee paid by legal off-road vehicles, officials. The gear has paid off during spills Stoyko said has taken among the rocks and brush while patrolling on his dirt bike. ``I've been down several times, but I have been fortunate not to get hurt,'' he said. ``You do fall down, and you get scrapes but just get up and laugh about it.'' Stoyko has loved motorcycles since he was a youngster and has a 1979 Suzuki 750 at home that he rides on weekends for fun. ``My first bike was a Honda 50 that I was given when I was a kid,'' he said. ``I must have been 8 or 9 years old at the time.'' The unit has just recently acquired six Suzuki 350 Dual Sport dirt bikes - purple, white and yellow vehicles that weigh about 300 pounds and cost $4,200 each. They are legal for street travel, so they don't have to be transported to their backcountry destinations. ``It's great to have a motorcycle that can go through mud or sand or even back alleys,'' Stoyko said. ``You are able to get to the mountains, even the areas people don't think you can get to.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Ventura County sheriff's Deputy Nolan Stoyko rides a dirt bike near the Thousand Oaks sheriff's station. (2) Deputy Nolan Stoyko, part of an eight-member off-road unit, sits atop his sheriff's dirt bike in Thousand Oaks. (3 -- ran in Simi edition only) no caption (Nolan Stoyko) Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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