Flying Squadron

Reprinted from AAA Westways magazine
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Flying Squadron LAPD’s finest and their (two-wheeled) flying machines By Morgan P. Yates Westways May 2013

The motorcycle has long been an effective policing tool, especially for traffic enforcement. These Los Angeles Police Department motor officers pose astride their mechanical steeds outside the Hollywood Division in this November 1928 image. A four-wheel speed demon would have found it difficult to outrun this flying squadron, comprised of (from left) a Harley-Davidson and five Excelsior-Hendersons. These vehicles were exceedingly quick and more nimble than most automobiles.
The LAPD purchased its first motorcycles in 1905 and has used a wide range of manufacturers over the years, including Indian, Thor, Moto Guzzi, and Kawasaki. The Excelsior-Henderson brand was owned by Schwinn, which acquired Excelsior and later Henderson Motorcycle Company to diversify its hugely successful bicycle manufacturing business. The Excelsior-Hendersons, equipped with powerful in-line 4-cylinder engines, were popular with police departments nationwide. Harley-Davidson remains a leader among police motorcycle fleets. Despite continued demand, Schwinn abruptly halted Excelsior-Henderson production and liquidated the company in 1931, a victim of the Depression.
L.A. Police Station 6 shared the building on North Cahuenga Boulevard with Los Angeles Fire Department units from 1913 until both departments vacated for separate quarters in 1930. (Sharp-eyed readers will note the “Police Woman” sign above a door in the background. In 1910, the LAPD appointed the first full-time female police officer in the U.S. to have the authority to make an arrest.) In private hands, the former station housed various commercial endeavors until succumbing to a structure fire in 1979. Today, the LAPD fields slightly more than 300 motor officers who wear the arrow-and-wheel emblem, just as their predecessors did more than 80 years ago.