Motor Officers have one of the most dangerous jobs in any police department. Motor officers are more likely to get seriously hurt or killed by riding a motorcycle. As motor officers, we try to train as much as possible to reduce our chances of getting seriously injured or killed. I got to talk to a motor officer who takes his training to the next level. I heard about Quinn Redeker through the years as a motor officer but never gave it much thought because my department would not allow us to compete in a police rodeo. Quinn has won over 100 motor officer rodeos and trains constantly to be the best rider he can be.
Quinn must be one of the most passionate motorcycle riders I have met. He loves to ride for fun but also professionally. I sat down with Quinn and dug into who Quinn is in his professional motorcycle riding and personal motorcycle riding career.
How old were you when you started riding a motorcycle?
Quinn first started riding when he was eight years old. Quinn’s first bike was a Honda XR80.
What made you want to ride?
Quinn started riding because that’s what everyone was doing when he was growing up in the San Fernando Valley. Quinn lived near some mountains where he and his buddies could ride into the hills all day long. Quinn would ride every day after school.
What kind of motorcycle training do you do?
When Quinn was 16 years old, he got his first street bike. Once Quinn got his street bike, he did lots of training with different motorcycle training schools. The training included dirt, street, and track. Quinn’s motorcycle training started in the dirt with motocross. Quinn tries to go to a track once a week to continue to practice his skills and fine-tune his riding ability. When Quinn can not get to a track, he gets on his unicycle and practices. Riding a unicycle has helped Quinn become a better off-road motorcycle rider because it helps train his brain to become comfortable with uncomfortable conditions. Once a week, Quinn works on the basics using his personal BMW R1200rt.
What police department are you working for now?
Ventura City Police Department
Why did you decide to become a police officer?
Quinn had a great job working for a manufacturing company. One day, Quinn talked with his father, a screenwriter, about an upcoming movie about human trafficking. Quinn realized there was so much more to the world than selling stuff to people. He realized that there are real victims out there that need help. Quinn wanted to make a difference in people’s lives even if he only helped one person in his career.
What made you want to become a police motor?
Quinn got into motors because his chief at the time told him he should try out for motors because everyone knew he could ride. After becoming a motor, he heard about police motorcycle rodeos. Quinn loves to race motorcycles and realized he could race his department bike on duty at the police rodeos.
How many motorcycle rodeos have you done?
Quinn has won over 100 rodeos and has only lost three or four of the rodeos.
Any bad crashes?
Quinn has crashed multiple times on the track and was airlifted by helicopter. Quinn has never had any bad crashes on the road but sometimes questions how he is still alive. Quinn had done many stupid things when he was younger, including not wearing proper gear and racing on the streets. Once Quinn became a motor officer, he became a lot smarter about how he rides, creating a sixth sense for him. As motor officers, we start to know what people are going to do before they know they will do it.
Any advice for new riders?
Take as much training as possible. Once you feel like you know how to ride, take more training. Don’t learn to ride on the street. Motorcycle riding in today’s world has become so dangerous. There are more cars on the road, and everyone is on their phone instead of paying attention to what’s going on around them.
Any advice for experienced riders?
Challenge yourself! Ask yourself how you can get better. The more you can perfect your motorcycle riding, the more fun you will have. The most important thing to do is Train, Train, Train.
Quinn has been riding a long-time, whether in the dirt, street, or track. Quinn realized that the more he could train, the more fun he would have on a bike. People worldwide started noticing how well Quinn could ride and invited him to their cities to teach them. Quinn realized how much riders wanted to learn, so he started a website called www.policemotortraining.com. You can learn techniques that Quinn uses to win police motor rodeos and become a better overall rider on the website. Quinn will also evaluate your riding. You can send a video of your riding, and he will assess your riding and give you tips on how to become a better rider. Something new that Quinn is trying to do in the future is to create patterns, time himself going through the pattern, and challenge other riders to beat his time.
Sheldon Sherman