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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ธ.ค. 2024
- This little Police Vespa may not seem very imposing or even like a piece of American History, but it was on the front lines of the Anti-Vietnam War Protests, The Riots of 1968 following MKL Jr s Assassination, as well Civil Rights Marches and Presidential Inaugurations of the 1960s and 1970s. The DC Metropolitan Police purchased hundreds of these Vespas to assist with large scale Mass Demonstrations of the 1960s and they began forming Scooter Civil Disturbance Platoons. These consisted of 30-40 Officers with Vespas, 4 sergeants and 1 Lieutenant usually supervising from a marked cruiser that escorted them through the city. Each Precinct had a Scooter Platoon as well several standard Officer CDU Platoons on foot or in cruisers. All CDU Platoons were outfitted with gas masks, munitions, helmets and riot batons. These Vespas (Italian for Wasp) were like the Cavalry of the Police Force, they swarmed officers into the front lines of violent demonstrations quickly and allowed them to form tactical maneuvers to control the crowd. The Officers loved them and they took a beating, they were dropped, rode hard, and crashed while catching Offenders and executing Riot Formations. They were used to deploy munitions, like Flash Bangs and Tear Gas. They were not the Meter Maids vehicle rather the working Officers Horse in Battle. When not used in Platoons, they assisted with crime patrol in violent neighborhoods. They were also commonly used in Inauguration parades where a platoon would ride tire to tire beside the POTUS Limo to keep the crowds from rushing the president. They’re floor board design made them easy to get on and off.
This Vespa is a 1972 Sprint 150cc scooter 19 assigned to training division. 6 Volts, 2 stroke with oil and fuel mixes automatically. 4 speed manual shift. No key, just a fleet shop installed small secret kill switch inside the fender storage. The DC shop also added a 12v battery to the left floor board for brighter lights and lights able to run when engine was off. No emergency equipment. The Vespas were replaced with Honda Mopeds in the 80s than Honda Rebels. They were phased out in the 2000s most likely due to Lawsuits and the fact that they were Motor Vehicles and any time they made contact with a citizen it was considered a traffic accident. Today they have been replaced with Mountain Bike Platoons and use many of the same tactics.
