Many street riders, particularly sportbike riders, may think of law enforcement officers only as a nuisance that keeps them from taking their bikes to the speeds they wish they could travel on public roads. However, police officers do a lot more than just give out speeding tickets, and Deputy Mike Churney is one officer who is fulfilling the “serve” part of “Protect and Serve”.
At 28, Churney is an 8-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department, and in his spare time he is the director of the recently-formed motorcycle division of Team Sheriff Racing. Formed in 1993, Team Sheriff Racing is a community outreach program intended to help develop a positive relationship between youth in Los Angeles and the Sheriff’s department. All members of Team Sheriff Racing are LA County Sheriff’s Deputies, but the program receives no monetary support from the Sheriff’s department and all team members give up their free time to work on a strictly volunteer basis.
The program originally fielded an NHRA Super Stock Eliminator drag car which sported police livery, and later expanded to include a Honda Civic competing in the NHRA Sport Compact series. Through the automobile dragracing program, the team was able to promote their efforts to educate young people about the dangers of illegal street racing. They also put on a number of “Beat the Heat” drag races where racers could challenge the Team Sheriff cars on the quarter mile.
Deputy Churney saw the need to expand the program to include motorcycles, in response to the growing number of young people buying and riding sport bikes in the Los Angeles area. Two of the biggest supporters of Team Sheriff Racing’s new motorcycle division have been American Honda Motor Company and Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Riding School. Honda provided a 2004 CBR600RR, and Spencer has allowed Deputy Churney to attend several schools to improve his riding skills.
Besides racing his CBR600RR in Formula USA CCS competion, Churney will appear with the bike at community events as well as make presentations at schools across the county. He won’t just talk about safe and responsible riding; he’ll also be there to talk to young people about the dangers of gangs and drug use, and offer them ideas for positive activities (like motorcycle racing) they could participate in instead.
It’s good to hear about a program like Team Sheriff Racing which promotes the positive aspects of motorcycle racing to youth and to the general public. Next time you head out to Willow Springs, keep your eye out for Deputy Mike Churney – you’ll know it’s him if you get passed by a sportbike with flashing cherries.
For more information about Team Sheriff Racing, and a schedule of their upcoming events, check out their web site at sheriffsracing.com.
