Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia stopped by the middle school on Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 4.

As the dismissal bell rang, Chief Correia made his way from the parking lot to an area near the bike racks. Before long, students filled the space, including about two dozen students who rode electric scooters to class that day. 

For about 15 minutes, Chief Correia spoke to the students. He answered questions about whether it was legal for e-scooters to ride on the bike path. He shared reminders about e-scooter safety. And he passed out dozens of stickers to the students. 

One student asked if the e-scooters were illegal. 

“What I will tell you is e-scooters are not illegal, but the town has an ordinance, you can’t ride on the sidewalks,” Chief Correia said. “What I’m worried about is the rules of the road: Riding with traffic, stopping at stop signs. Read today’s Barrington Times — there’s a lot of concern. That’s all it is.”

Another student asked the chief about the bike trails in the woods near Tiffany Pond. The town removed the jumps, citing concerns about potential liability issues.

“You can’t ride on them the way they are, it’s too dangerous,” Chief Correia told the student. “Kids are going 20 feet in the air.”

“Only 20 feet?” a student joked, drawing a few laughs from his classmates.

“Are the scooters illegal on the bike path?” another student asked the chief. 

“They’re not, not yet,” Chief Correia said. “But I’ve got to tell you there’s a lot of movement. Listen, I’m not angry at you. It’s not that I dislike these scooters. I’m concerned about your safety…”

The chief realized the students were anxious to head home. 

“I can see you want to go. Anybody want a sticker, you can take a sticker,” he said, and began passing out the stickers.

The meeting between the town’s top law enforcement officer and the young e-scooter riders followed an earlier discussion between Chief Correia and local mom, Dr. Monissa Solberg. The mother of two middle school boys, Dr. Solberg has grown concerned about a growing anti-e-scooter sentiment in town. She sent a letter to the Barrington Times late last month detailing the situation: “My own children are now afraid to go out and enjoy Barrington because they worry about getting in trouble with the police. Their friends share similar fears. These are not isolated concerns within my family. When children begin to feel like public enemy number one in their hometown, we should stop and ask ourselves whether our approach is working.”

Chief Correia met with Dr. Solberg to discuss the issue and offered to speak with the middle school e-scooter riders. 

“I was hoping to just engage with them and let them know that this isn’t a war against kids on e-scooters,” Chief Correia said, following the Nov. 4 event. “I’m concerned about their safety. Simple as that. I’m worried about safety. Kids have been killed in southeast Massachusetts. We had a kid strike a car in the plaza. I’m just worried about some kid really getting hurt.”

Chief Correia explained that e-scooters are not illegal in Rhode Island; that is different than e-bikes, which are illegal for anyone under 16 to drive. He also said that there is a “micro-mobility working group” studying the issue at the state level.

“And I’ve said it a lot of times, I’m hoping that parents would apply e-bike laws to e-scooters within their household,” Chief Correia said. “What I worry about are young kids here, they don’t know the rules of the road. I saw kids, they operate left of center. They’re operating against traffic. They don’t stop at stop signs. It’s dangerous. And they’re young, they’re young kids. 

“I’m open to bike safety in the schools. We’ve ridden, I’ve ridden with kids in the summertime. I don’t have an issue with that at all. I’m just concerned… the difference between this and a bicycle, they go too fast. In my opinion, they go speeds that are unsafe for little kids. Simple as that.”

Dr. Solberg said she was pleased that Chief Correia made time to speak with the local students. She was hoping that the e-scooter riders would share their thoughts and concerns with the chief. 

Dr. Solberg and Chief Correia agreed that the relationship between the police department and local middle school students would be aided by the addition of a school resource officer in that building. 

“I appreciate that so much. If it was the same one or two people that came every day or came every week, the kids would get comfortable with them,” Dr. Solberg said. “They’d know the person… They’d trust the person. Having a relationship like that with the police department would be amazing for the kids, because the kids would have more trust overall with the police, because they’d feel like they know them. They’d feel like the police have their best interests.”

The chief agreed. 

“Yes. Of course. Without a doubt,” Chief Correia said. “I think the presence of a second SRO or a third for that matter, it’s just an opportunity for teaching lessons, in the hallway. We have a kid, he dumps off his e-bike. The next day we have a conversation with him. ‘Be careful. We’re worried about you.’ Bike safety, we can do that. First off you need officers engaged with the students. I’m just worried about a kid getting hurt. That’s really all it is. I get it, we’re intimidating, we have uniforms on, we’re adults.”

Chief Correia pointed to the work SRO Joel Saccoccio has done at Barrington High School.

“Joel has built lasting relationships with kids. Absolutely. You’re right about that, we need consistency. I can’t just send an officer every day … over time you build trust with relationships,” he said.