Statewide police motorcycle training held in Green Bay

GREEN BAY – More than 50 law enforcement officers from across the state put their precision riding skills to the test this week at Vandervest Harley Davidson during the 2026 Badger Motor Officers Association Police Motorcycle Training Seminar.

This year marks the first time the annual training event has been held in Green Bay.
“The training we’re doing is an annual training for officers in the state…” said John Vande Burgt, president of the Badger Motor Officers Association. “Everyone that rides a motorcycle knows it’s a perishable skill. We want to keep our skills sharp.”

Officers spent time practicing and preparing on a course to test their precision riding skills before competing in timed challenges on Saturday, Aug. 8.

“We run an advanced skill seminar and then we add a little stress,” Vande Burgt said. “We put them on the clock for a competition.”

The Badger Motor Officers Association, a nonprofit organization, hosts and funds the training seminar each year.

“Everybody knows that training is the first thing to go when budgets get tight, but it’s also the first thing that’s scrutinized when something goes wrong as well, so we’re out here making sure our motor officers from across the state have training,” Vande Burgt said.
Vande Burgt said well-trained motor officers are assets to their departments.

“They’re a useful community policing tool,” Vande Burgt said. “We have a lot more positive police interactions with the public on a motorcycle than we do in a car with the windows rolled up.”

In Green Bay, motor officers are primarily used to police traffic and for community involvement.