Of general interest to scanner listeners, a beautiful custom CHP Memorial Chopper. Scroll to the bottom for pictures of this rolling piece of artwork. The second half of the text describes the creation and unique power source of the bike ~ScanDiego
PRESS RELEASE
C.H.P. MEMORIAL CHOPPER
C.H.P. Memorial Chopper -
Contact Person: C.A.H.P. Director Ron Cohan, (323) 646-1120
On the afternoon of April 21, 2004, while leaving a Los Angeles County Courthouse, C.H.P. Officer Tom Steiner was murdered by a “want-to-be” gang member. Steiner was the 201st C.H.P. Officer killed in the line-of-duty during the C.H.P.’s 75 year history. Officer Steiner was 35 years old, had been a C.H.P. Officer for five years and is survived by his parents, wife and two sons. Following Tom’s death, a C.H.P. Officer he trained was inspired to memorialize not only Tom, but the 200 who had gone before him and those who would unfortunately come after him. It takes less than the fingers on two hands to count the number of calendar years without a C.H.P. line-of-duty death.
Officer Sean Roby, who was trained by Steiner, set out to create a C.H.P. Memorial Chopper, a custom made, one-of-a-kind, chopper memorializing fallen C.H.P. Officers. Ultimately, the chopper was manufactured by one of Southern California’s finest custom motorcycle design houses, Big Bear Choppers (Big Bear Lake, CA). To further promote the one-of-a-kind nature of this particular motorcycle, it is powered by a lithium power source that is contained within the housings of the standard motorcycle components (engine, carburetor, air cleaner, etc.). The chopper has the appearance of a gasoline powered vehicle. Not until it quietly...and quickly...accelerates away would anyone realize it is an electric powered vehicle, capable of standard motorcycle speeds. Hybrid Technologies (Las Vegas, Nevada) donated both the lithium technology and paid for the chopper’s manufacturing costs. The chopper is painted in the traditional black and white colors of many law enforcement motorcycles and contains tributes to fallen officers (badge with mourning ribbon, artwork of police motorcade escorting a hearse to the cemetery, etc.). The custom paint, and most of the detail work, was completed by Aggressive Designs (Anaheim, CA). The centers of the wheels contain oversized, intricately detailed, C.H.P. badges finished in 24-karat gold. The black leather seat created by Danny Gray Motorcycle Seats (Santa Ana, CA) is embroidered with an oversize version of the C.H.P.’s uniform shoulder patch. The chopper’s vehicle identification number (V.I.N.) ends with the numbers “…201,” representing C.H.P. Officer Thomas Steiner, the 201st C.H.P. Officer killed in the line-of-duty. The memorial chopper, and its technology, is valued at over $50,000.
Motorcycles have long been a part of the C.H.P. In the early days (1930’s) it was because they were less expensive to both purchase and operate. Today California roadway congestion makes motorcycles the most effective vehicle in reaching injured persons, clearing traffic collisions, removing disabled vehicles from traffic lanes, clearing road hazards, etc.
The memorial chopper is being donated by Hybrid Technologies to the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (C.A.H.P.). The C.A.H.P. will be presenting it to the California Highway Patrol (C.H.P.) for display. The C.A.H.P. will coordinate the chopper’s appearance at anti-gang events and activities bringing attention to law enforcement line-of-duty deaths.
Photos from the CHP