“I joined in ’84 when I was a kid,” he said. “I was a motorcycle rider anyway and they had a charity event. I went and joined that day. I came here in ’89 and have been a member of Ohio III ever since.”
The Blue Knights is an international, law enforcement motorcycle club. Winters, semi-retired from the Carlisle police department, is president of the Blue Knights Ohio, chapter III.
“The overall idea is officers getting together and enjoying motorcycling,” he said. “They ride with people they know and trust.”
The club is open to law enforcement employees — active and retired — and their family members, who can become honorary members.
The club has dinners, breakfasts, monthly meetings and of course, group rides. “Cruisers, sport bikes, scooters, Harley’s, Hondas ... as long as it carries a motorcycle plate it’s welcome,” Winters said.
Blue Knights international was formed in 1974 in Maine. There are 599 chapters in 20 countries, boasting about 20,000 members. There are more than 130 members representing about 28 law enforcement agencies in the Ohio III chapter.
Members range in age from 82 to 23; three are female. Deena Neal, a police officer for Wright State University, is the only female member who works in law enforcement.
“A lot of men bring their wives and daughters,” Neal said. “Although I may be the only female member, I don’t feel isolated or like I’m the only girl there.”
Neal worked for the German Twp. police department for 23 years before taking the job at Wright State. She owns a 2003 Harley Fat Boy — her fourth bike. Neal started riding about 15 years ago.
“My brothers had bikes and they’d take me on rides every once in a while, but I wanted to ride more than that,” she said. She bought her first bike from her brother — before she even knew how to ride it. “I thought, ‘I’m going to learn to ride this and if not I’ll sell it back to him.’ ”
There were some beginner’s nerves. “I mainly rode on back roads until I got comfortable,” she said.
That strategy worked well until a large piece of farm equipment forced her to the side of the road once, as she was riding up a hill.
“It’s hard to start back up when you’re a new rider and on an incline,” she said, laughing. “Now it’s just like second nature to me.”
Law enforcement and motorcycles have been linked since as far back as the early 1900s. The first Harley Davidson police motorcycle was delivered to the Detroit Police Department in 1908, according to the Harley Davidson Web site. Nearly seven decades later TV brought CHiPS, the hugely popular, “bike cop” show, into millions of homes.
Maj. John DiPietro of the Miami Twp. police department was in front of one of those TVs as a kid and fell in love with motorcycles. He got his first bike when he was 16.
“As goofy as this sounds, that was my inspiration to be a police officer, too,” said DiPietro, 45, who has three bikes. “I’m going to rebuild one to look like a California Highway Patrol motorcycle. The Ponch dream lives on,” he said, laughing.
Personal riding aside, having a motorcycle in the department is great, too, DiPietro said. They’re used primarily for traffic enforcement and special events.
“I think everyone enjoys seeing an officer or deputy on a motorcycle. It’s a reason for someone to come up and talk to us,” he said.
But Blue Knights members aren’t just riding around aimlessly. A big part of the club’s activities is its charitable efforts, including donating money to several charities over the years, Winters said. The club also supports New York Police and Fire Widows’ & Children’s Benefit Fund.
Their help isn’t always in the form of a check. Since 1996 the club has purchased and distributed 3,500 to 5,000 “trauma” bears, according to Tuck Fuller. The bears are to comfort kids going through a tough time, whether it’s watching Mom or Dad get arrested, testifying in court or being hospitalized.
Fuller, a retired FBI agent and Ohio III member, said the bears go to service providers and agencies that include hospitals, courts and rescue squads.
Communities including Tipp City, Lewisburg, Vandalia, Dayton, Huber Heights, and Sycamore and Good Samaritan hospitals have all been recipients. Sometimes the knights hand-deliver the bears to kids, like in July when members rode to Children’s Medical Center and handed out 50 furry creatures.
“This is a way of giving back to the Miami Valley,” Fuller said. “It’s great to put a smile on these kids’ faces.”
Brenna Bretscher deals with kids on a daily basis as a math teacher at the Miami Valley School, where she also coaches varsity softball and junior varsity tennis. She’s an honorary member of the Blue Knights.
“Every person I’ve met in that group has been so kind and helpful,” she said. “It’s not what people think about cops,” said Bretscher, whose dad, Bill, is a retired Bellbrook police lieutenant.
“He encouraged me to take the course the state offers and it was a lot of fun,” she said.
Bretscher, 32, sometimes rides her Suzuki sport bike to work. “The little kids think I’m the coolest teacher ever,” she said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2374 or anwatson @DaytonDailyNews.com.
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