So Paulo R.O.C.A.M. Police Chase Video
When it comes to the motorcycle chase scene of an Action/Adventure film through the metropolitan center of some foreign country the close calls and near misses are what makes the scene so breathtaking. Reality, however, exposes that bad guys don’t possess the same motorcycle skillset as they do in the movies. Go figure. Some helmet cam footage from São Paulo’s R.O.C.A.M. division provides some real-world footage of motorcycle chase scenes.
After conducting some light, deep investigative research it’s come to be revealed that R.O.C.A.M. (Rondas Ostensivas Com Apoio de Motocicletas) is the badass motorcycle division of São Paulo’s 1st Shock Police Battalion (Google translation). Created in 1982, R.O.C.A.M. uses motorcycles in lieu of four-wheelers to better chase the bad guys into hostile terrain. The small-displacement bikes decrease response time by allowing police to overcome obstacles and filter through city congestion in their pursuit of apprehending criminals.
Not sure why in most of these videos the criminals are riding two-up on one bike; a passenger is only going to slow down the getaway. Guess it doesn’t matter where you live, criminals are generally not very bright. Note the lack of protective gear. Someone needs to tell them to steal a helmet before stealing the bike.
A former Motorcycle.com staffer who has gone on to greener pastures, Tom Roderick still can't get the motorcycle bug out of his system. And honestly, we still miss having him around. Tom is now a regular freelance writer and tester for Motorcycle.com when his schedule allows, and his experience, riding ability, writing talent, and quick wit are still a joy to have – even if we don't get to experience it as much as we used to.
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By the way, ROCAM means something like "Continual patrols with motorcycle support" (in case machine translation returns something wild). Criminals usually ride two-up to rob other vehicles (frequently other bikes): the pillion points the gun first and rides away.
Lol, some of them are so funny. Like the last one playing hide-and-seek. But 3:37 is kinda disturbing - the criminal was so eager to surrender that made me think he was really scared for his life. Being shot there by cops is probably a very real prospect. Which, of course, is not surprising, considering in what conditions cops have to work there.