Cincinnati police get Segways

The Associated Press
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CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati police aren't abandoning their conventional two-wheelers. But they are adding to their motorcycles and bicycles with another vehicle for neighborhood patrols.

Segway Personal Transporters are being assigned to street use as part of a crime-fighting initiative on the city's west side.

The stand-up scooters are used in dozens of airports, universities and private security services and cities are jumping onboard.

The manufacturer says more than 100 police departments across the country use the vehicles. But the company's Web site lists the Cincinnati suburb of Mason as the only Ohio city to have one.

The scooters have a top speed a little over 12 miles per hour. But they allow officers to cover more ground than on foot.