Prince William County, VA Police Department

The History of the Prince William County Police Department Motorcycle Unit

One of the first specialty units formed was the Motorcycle Squad.  Chief Owens described his vision for the unit as early as April of 1970, when he stated his plans to use motorcycle officers for, “more effective traffic control and faster apprehension of vehicles or felons in violation of the laws”[i].   The Chief envisioned the majority of motorcycle patrols would occur in the Woodbridge area due to the heavy traffic in the eastern portion of the county.

The first two motor officers were Officer Gerald Lesko and Officer Roger Rollins; both transplants from the Alexandria Police Department.


Full deployment of the unit rolled out slower than expected due to the motorcycle radios being on backorder.  Prior to the outfitting of the radios, the two motormen were used mainly for escort work.  On February 16, 1972 Officers James Fisher and Larry Odham joined the team and the “Motor Squad” was officially established.  The unit was under the supervision of Sergeant Harry Hittle.[i]  New motor officers received training with the Fairfax County Police Motorcycle Unit.  The unit was disbanded for a short time in the late 1970s, then reinstated.

Today, the unit consists of two First Sergeants and 15 officers.

On December 31, 2012 Motor Officer Chris Yung was responding to a call for service when he was struck and killed by a motorist.  He was the third officer in the department’s history to lose his life in the line of duty.

[1] “No Policewomen, Chief Says”, The Journal Messenger, April 9, 1970

[1] “Motorcycling policemen form ‘Motor Squad’”, Potomac News, February 10, 1972

1950’s

Information and Photos provided by the Prince William County, VA Police Department.