Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office adds motorcycle units to help with traffic enforcement

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has added four Harley-Davidson motorcycles to ensure people follow the rules of the road.

The motorcycles, now part of the department’s traffic unit, will increase traffic enforcement targeting speeding to aggressive behavior and those driving under the influence.

Sheriff Duane Lewis said that when he was elected sheriff, the top complaint he heard was about drug problems in the area – now he is hearing about traffic concerns.

“It’s become our number one complaint. So, with that amount of complaints and amount of people that are in Berkeley County now, I had to address that problem,” he said.

“They are fully marked however people aren’t looking for the motorcycles. They’re looking for the normal police car,” said Sgt. Paul Ya’Covozzi with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office. “They’re visible, but they’re not really visible because no one’s really looking for them.”

Deputies assigned to this team were moved from other vehicles and have undergone extensive motorcycle training.

“These guys can go in areas that a normal Chevy Tahoe or police cruiser can’t get to. These guys can maneuver in and out of traffic and they’re specially trained in that,” Sgt. Ya’Covozzi said.

Berkeley County Council approved just under $155,000 for these Harleys last year. During the Independence Day holiday, they will be patrolling as much as possible.

“These motors- they specifically target complaint areas. Complaints that are sent to the sheriff; the sheriff sends them to me and I send it to them. They go out to these areas, and they enforce traffic laws. They watch for aggressive drivers, distracted drivers, and impaired drivers,” he said.

The motor units will be on the roads from now through the end of this weekend addressing citizen complaints and enforcing the laws.

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