Sturgis Police Patrol But Also Let Rallygoers Have Fun
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — Sgt. Bill Barff of the Sturgis Police Department is cruising down a dimly lit side street when a wobbly motorcyclist pulls out in front of him.
The bike nearly tips over, prompting Barff to turn on his police lights and radio for another officer. Patrol officers are working in teams during the 75th Sturgis motorcycle rally as a safety precaution, but because Barff is a supervisor, he’s traveling alone this night.
Barff suspects the motorcyclist, a middle-aged man from Pittsburgh, has been drinking. The man admits to drinking a few beers, but says it has been hours since he had his last one.
His companion offers a different reason for the near-spill. “His legs are too short for the bike,” she says.
Within minutes another officer arrives and administers a series of sobriety tests. The tests come back negative. The conclusion is that the cause was indeed his short legs.
“Tell him he needs training wheels,” Barff tells the man’s companion. “And give him some electrolytes.”
Barff’s joking and friendly interaction with the couple are by design. While “some bad apples” bring drugs and illegal weapons into town for the weeklong celebration, the vast majority are good people here to have fun, he says.
“The bikers are here on vacation. You don’t want to give them a bad experience,” he told the Rapid City Journal ( ).
So while he is on the lookout for drunken drivers, Barff is also helping bikers find places to park, dishing out advice on how to avoid getting towed and making small chat.
“How are you doing?” a biker asks Barff while they wait at a red light on Lazelle Street, the main cruising drag in downtown Sturgis.
“Better than some, worse than others,” Barff says. “The question is, are you having fun?”
The biker nods, adding: “And staying out of trouble.”
Because it’s the 75th rally, the crowds this year have been especially large, making the task of finding a parking spot even more difficult than at previous rallies. The streets are more congested this year too, but it’s not the bikes that cause the traffic to grind to a crawl. “Most of the traffic problems,” Barff says, “are caused by pedestrians.”
One of those pedestrians, a man wearing a revealing kilt, catches Barff’s eye. “I’ll pass on that fad,” he says. “You don’t want to see my legs.”
Among the women, what’s in style changes year-to-year. This year, fishnet pants and shirts are in vogue. One thing that remains constant is that the women must cover their nipples. “Sometimes,” Barff says of the more risque outfits, “it gets downright scary.”
The men, on the other hand, are predictable. “The guys are pretty much into the leather and black T-shirts,” he says.
Barff had begun his shift at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to work until 6 a.m. the next day. The bars in Sturgis close at 2 a.m., and after that the downtown clears out. Motorcycles that are parked illegally and left behind are towed so the streets can be cleaned. Barff, who has worked for the Sturgis Police Department for 10 years, says he prefers working the graveyard shift because of the kinds of people he comes in contact with during those hours.
Asked if any memories stand out from previous rallies, Barff says: “No, it’s all a blur, really. I wish I had started writing a book.”
He does mention one memory from earlier in the week: One of the officers at the department got into a scuffle with a woman. The officer was taken to the ground and became covered in mud, but escaped injury.
Whether that could be material for the start of a book, Barff didn’t say.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal,
