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Mellow Johnny’s to continue providing police bikes until end of year HOTEBIKE
AUSTIN, Texas (BRAIN) — Mellow Johnny’s Bike Store will present bikes and companies to the Austin Police Division till town awards one other contract, which is predicted “someday earlier than or shortly after the start of the brand new calendar yr.”
In a letter written by Austin Procurement Supervisor Cyrenthia Ellis and dated Aug. 25, town will finish the present five-year contract with 30 days’ discover after awarding the brand new contract. The letter adopted an Aug. 6 cellphone name with Mellow Johnny’s normal supervisor, Will Black, and repair supervisor Dave Ryther, to whom the letter was addressed.
On Aug. 5, Mellow Johnny’s announced by way of social media it could now not promote bikes to the police division over considerations officers have been utilizing them aggressively to dam Black Lives Matter protesters from roadways. The police contract was in its second yr.
“We wished to do every part we will to assist town out, and that is been the case from very early on,” Black instructed BRAIN on Friday afternoon.
The town was “unaware of every part that was occurring within the bicycle business with mainly product not obtainable,” Black added. “That was the one factor I wished to relay to (Ellis) was we’d be more than pleased to satisfy that obligation, however along with her understanding that there was going to be — relying on if and after they want bikes — there could or will not be any obtainable.”
Black stated he does not know if the police division will place one other bike order earlier than the top of the yr as a result of “it goes in waves. Wouldn’t it be stunning if we obtained an order someday this fall? No. However on the similar time, I might additionally see they would not essentially must.”
The downtown space police command has greater than 150 bicycle patrol officers, and the division purchases between 50 to 100 bikes a yr, in line with Black.
Mellow Johnny’s Bike Store Fort Value operates below separate administration, and possession and stated on social media on Aug. 5 it was not in settlement with the Austin location’s resolution.
The Austin store’s resolution continued a development of some within the business calling for the top of police bike gross sales. BikeCo, the North American distributor of Fuji bikes, suspended sales of bikes to police forces in June, citing latest stories of police bikes getting used as weapons at protest marches. Fuji police bikes are bought by way of bike outlets.
On Aug. 13, the Austin Metropolis Council unanimously voted to cut the police department budget by a 3rd after the division confronted criticism over the killing of an unarmed Black and Hispanic man, along with use-of-force complaints.