Officers take to Trikke patrol vehicles fast and find they do more than expected
Every Trikke deployment starts with one agency deciding to try something new. A look back at past October stories shows what happens next.
October 2023:Security Trikkes making the grade on college campuses found Positrons and Defenders “rolling along campus corridors” from Berkeley to Yale. More than 20 college and university police and security departments were already using them.
At Dallas College, which deployed Positrons across a downtown campus spread over several city blocks, then-Captain James Smith, Jr., put it simply: “Our mobility on the Trikkes makes us a lot more mobile and our response a lot faster.”
Dallas College is still at it. This year, the Dallas College Police Department added two Positron version 3 models, its third Trikke order since 2019.
At DFW, Sgt. Michael Schreacke called the Trikke “a favorite among officers due to its ease of use and effectiveness in maintaining a strong officer presence in terminals and parking garages.”
The same month, Cataño municipal police join Puerto Rico’s growing Trikke patrol network followed a coastal city across the bay from San Juan. Cataño joined more than a dozen municipalities and agencies on the island already riding Positrons. Days after its first deployment, the department requested a quote for three more units. Trikke trainer Albert Rivera called it “a wave of modernization” in community policing.
Campus police. Airport security. City patrols. Different settings, same result: once one agency puts Trikkes on patrol, others soon follow.
Getting a Trikke patrol vehicle from the station to the beat can be a challenge. Ride it on a busy thoroughfare built for cars, or lift it into the bed of a truck or the back of a van.
Now there’s a better way.
Enter the Trikke patrol rack, a new accessory that mounts on a truck or van and comes in single and double versions, carrying one or two Trikkes.
The Highland Village Police Department in North Texas had been waiting for it. “Are they available yet?” Sgt. David Pittinger asked Trikke in May. “We do have a need for these.”
In July, Trikke sent the department a double rack to put through its paces. Three months later, Pittinger’s verdict is in.
“We could not be happier with the rack,” he said.
How it works
Setup is a one-time job: the department bolts receivers onto the vehicle. Trikke supplies the receivers, bolts and drill bit. All the department needs is a power drill.
After that, no tools are needed. The rack slides into the receivers, the Trikke goes on the rack, and one officer handles the whole thing.
“A single officer has no problem installing the rack and then loading the Trikke,” Pittinger said. “It is so easy for an officer to place the Trikke on the rack and secure it.”
Simple and sturdy
Highland Village PD assembled and tested the rack within days of its arrival.
“The design is very simple and yet sturdy,” Pittinger reported at the time. “There is no concern that it might not be strong enough to hold two units. It slides into our receivers easily, but has very little wiggle or shifting from side to side.”
The department uses the rack mostly to get its Trikke from headquarters to local shopping centers without riding it on main roadways. One day, that short trip turned into a long one. Pittinger loaded the Trikke onto his truck, got dispatched to a call on the way, and spent several hours driving from call to call with the Trikke on the rack.
“At no time was I worried about the Trikke not being safe and secure,” he said. “By the time I arrived to my destination, the Trikke was just as secure as when I loaded it up.”
“No reason to change a thing”
Trikke asked Highland Village for critical feedback to improve the rack. Pittinger didn’t have any.
“I believe due to its simple and straightforward design that there is no reason to change a thing,” he said. “G (Trikke CEO Gildo Beleski) hit it out of the park with this rack, and I strongly recommend this rack (as is) for regular patrol operations.”
Before the rack, getting a Trikke into a truck meant lifting it. Pittinger, for one, doesn’t miss that.
“Speaking for myself, the rack has saved my tired old back a lot of misery,” he said.
The Trikke patrol rack is available now in limited quantities. Contact Trikke to order one or learn more.
Meet the police departments and agencies adding Trikke’s newest top-of-the-line patrol vehicles.
When Trikke Professional Mobility introduced the Positron version 3 in early 2026, the story was about the vehicle itself.
Redesigned from the ground up after years of field experience, the new Positron brought changes aimed at durability, equipment integration, and real-world patrol operations.
Now there’s another part of the story: who’s buying it.
Since deliveries began, 12 Positron version 3 units have gone to seven organizations: the Palatka (Florida) Police Department (three), Glendale Police Department, Dallas College Police Department, and Baton Rouge Community College (two each), and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Tennessee State Parks, and the VA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (one each).
Dallas College adds to its Positron fleet
In 2019, the Dallas College Police Department deployed four Positrons to help officers patrol one of the largest community college systems in Texas. Two years later, the department added another six units. This year, it added two version 3 models.
“A major upgrade”
Cpl. Ryan Martinez, a Trikke instructor with the Dallas College Police Department, has been riding the new units.
“The upgrades have been incredible,” he says. “Overall, version 3 is a major upgrade.”
How so? “I’ve noticed a significant difference in the acceleration,” Martinez says.
Then the lights. “The lighting system is also much brighter and stands out more during nighttime and early-morning hours,” he says. During the day, the lights can be turned off to conserve battery power. Also, several new light cycles have been added, which, Martinez says, “makes it easier and faster to find a lighting pattern that works for the situation.”
The added police lighting and decals matter too. “They make it easier for people around us to identify us as law enforcement, and they allow us to clearly articulate that the vehicle is a marked police unit,” Martinez says.
Operating the vehicle is simpler as well. “The wiring and buttons have also been consolidated, making the system much easier to operate,” he says.
And there’s the increased visibility. “There have been more comments than usual from citizens when they see the Trikkes,” Martinez says. “They are taller and look more substantial while maintaining the same width.”
Twelve units. Seven organizations. And one department on its third order in seven years.
For Positron version 3, the reports from the field are just starting to come in.
Riding to the rescue: news report shows how e-scooter patrols respond quickly in major city’s busiest areas
Dubai Police e-scooter patrols aided in the arrest of three suspects and recovery of Dh190,000 — about $51,700 — in stolen cash within minutes, according to The National, a major English-language news organization based in Abu Dhabi. An AI-generated image accompanying the story depicts the officers riding Trikkes. An AI-generated image accompanying the story (shown above) depicts the officers riding Trikkes. The vehicles are Positron 72VXLs, a model Dubai Police has deployed since 2025.
After receiving descriptions of the suspects, officers from Naif Police Station reached the scene within two minutes. The stolen money was recovered just two minutes later.
Brig. Omar Mousa Ashour, director of Naif Police Station, said the swift arrests and recovery of the money demonstrated the effectiveness of the patrols:
“Officers used e-scooters to move quickly through areas with a lot of pedestrians, and to avoid heavy traffic. The scooters also help police to move in places, like narrow alleyways, where conventional vehicles may be unable to go.”
Naif is just one of the areas where Dubai Police deploys Trikkes. The vehicles can be found patrolling tourist and other busy areas across the city, where pedestrian traffic and congestion can make conventional police vehicles less effective.
Trikkes can be seen elsewhere in the region, including at Dubai World Trade Centre and with the UAE Armed Forces.
Dubai Police has been expanding the role of personal mobility in policing. Earlier this year, authorities created a new Personal Mobility Monitoring Unit to ensure bicycle and e-scooter users follow traffic rules. Officers monitor unsafe behavior including speeding, reckless riding and tandem riding on e-scooters.
That puts personal electric vehicles on both sides of the equation: Dubai Police is using them to patrol the people using them.
A look at past September blog stories shows how Trikke patrol vehicles have changed over the years.
Today, we call it Built to Patrol. It’s a simple way to describe the Trikke Positron and the job it was designed to do. But a trip through the Trikke Mobility Chronicle archives shows just how much went into getting there.
Mark Westman, then director of operations at Allied, called the Trikke “the perfect security patrol tool.” He said officers had “a better view of the area” from the Trikke and could “cover much more ground, much faster than on foot or in a cart or car.” As for the public, Westman reported “nothing but 110% positive feedback,” with some customers even wanting selfies with security personnel on Trikkes.
September 2021: The Trikke Cargo System: A game-changer for last-mile deliveries and more introduced modular cargo boxes and detachable trailers that allow Trikkes to carry equipment, supplies and other materials, with configurations for transporting everything from refrigerated items and hot food to rescue equipment and medical supplies.
September 2023: The airless tires are coming! The airless tires are coming! announced the arrival of solid, airless tires, meaning no leaks, no flats and fewer maintenance headaches for fleets operating primarily on smoother surfaces at airports, hospitals, malls and other large facilities.
September 2025: Patrol redefined: Trikke gives your team superpowers featured a video showcasing the Positron in action, with an emphasis on greater coverage, faster response, elevated visibility and stronger engagement with the people officers and security professionals serve.
Built to patrol
Which brings us to September 2026. Trikke patrol vehicles continue to evolve, but their purpose has become increasingly clear: build the vehicle around the realities of patrol, not the other way around.
Leading law enforcement publication awards its “Tested – Field Rated” seal following hands-on evaluation.
For more than 50 years, Officer Media Group has provided law enforcement professionals with information on equipment, technology, training and operations. Its Officer Labs program takes that coverage into the field, putting products through hands-on evaluation before awarding its “Tested – Field Rated” seal.
For the Trikke Positron 72V XL, the evaluation began with the limitations officers have encountered with earlier stand-up electric patrol vehicles, including limited battery life, fixed suspension, terrain restrictions and balance issues.
What the evaluators found was something different. The review described the Positron as “a new type of electric patrol vehicle that has none of the challenges of the older tools.”
The Officer Labs team first encountered the Positron at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, where the Trikke’s unconventional design immediately stood out. Compared with previous patrol mobility products that appeared bulky and heavy, the review said the Positron “looked almost skeletonized and moved like nothing our team had previously experienced.”
Then came the question that matters with any new patrol vehicle: How does it ride?
One member of the evaluation team was riding the Positron within three minutes. According to the review, “the learning curve is not steep for operation.”
The rider was initially stiff and cautious. But as he became accustomed to the vehicle, its independent suspension, ergonomic handlebars and controls, and smooth acceleration and deceleration allowed him to move more naturally.
His assessment of the experience was simpler. He “commented how much fun it was to ride the Trikke Positron.”
Built for patrol. Tested in the field.
The evaluation also examined the Positron 72V XL’s practical capabilities. The model features independent suspension and all-terrain tires, a top speed of up to 44 mph and a range of up to 35 miles. Its Quick-Swap Lithium-Ion battery is designed to support use across a full patrol shift and quick handoff from one shift to the next.
The 72V XL also serves as the foundation for the Positron Police Spec model, developed with direct input from former law enforcement officers. It adds a headlight, three-tone siren, seven-panel emergency lighting and a segmented gear bag for patrol equipment.
But Officer Labs’ conclusion went beyond specifications.
The review described the Positron 72V XL as “immediately deployable upon receipt by your agency” after appropriate safety training and practice time.
It also pointed to what the Positron could accomplish on duty, encouraging agencies to put trained officers on the vehicle and “watch the patrol efficiency and community engagement that can occur in parallel through the use of such tools.”
In other words, the Positron can help agencies patrol more efficiently while better serving and protecting their communities.
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