see also: in October 2007 News Releases:   Cocaine Smuggler Tries To Trick El Paso CBP Officers by Hiding Drugs in Car Body   Border Patrol Agents in Texas Seize Marijuana Worth $1 Million Hidden Under Watermelons   Fingerprint Check Allows Border Patrol to Arrest Murder Suspect   Border Patrol Texas Task Force Seizes 500 Pounds of Marijuana   CBP Officers at Mail Facility Find Marijuana in Cement Statues, Opium   Tecate, Calif. Cargo Processing Port to Resume Operations Wednesday Morning   CBP at Newark Airport Discovers Man with Fraudulent Documents, False Claim to U.S. Citizenship ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Ariz. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector and the Cocopah Nation continue to strengthen their relationship as partner law enforcement agencies, and recently four Cocopah Police officers completed the Yuma Sector Bike Unit’s 40-hour Law Enforcement Bicycle Training Program.

Border Patrol agent bike instructors led the four police officers through a strenuous week-long training regimen that ended Friday consisted of bicycle safety and maintenance, various riding techniques and law enforcement-specific procedures such as pursuing and approaching individuals.

The course marks an important milestone in strengthening the alliance between Border Patrol agents and partner law enforcement agencies, such as the Cocopah Police Department, since both organizations routinely provide assistance to one another in the field.

"We have traditionally enjoyed strong support from our Cocopah friends and neighbors, and being able to bolster their enforcement activities by offering this training will serve both our organizations equally," said Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson.

The course is the second which consisted of students from the Cocopah Police Department, but according to both Chief Beeson and Cocopah Police Chief James Spurgeon, it won’t be the last. In fact, Chief Spurgeon said the training is valuable and will allow his officers to better patrol the community as well as be able to interact with the local citizens.

According to senior patrol agent and bike instructor Jason Mercado, the training provides an opportunity for other law enforcement officers to see how the Border Patrol does its job with bicycles, but also provides valuable skills that will better enable officers on bike patrols to be more effective.

"We see each other regularly, so it’s important to know how we both do business,” Agent Mercado said. “That way we are better suited to provide the kind of support the other may need."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.