INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — For as long as they can remember, Steven Scott and Carlos Pettiford have dreamed of joining the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Motorcycle Drill Team.

Both men said they have been riding motorcycles since they were young; Scott since age 5, and Pettiford since age 8.

“I recall going down to the old Busch Stadium where the guys would practice at in the back back there and watching them, sitting on my moped,” Scott said.

Now veteran motorcycle officers serving with IMPD’s traffic unit, Scott and Pettiford applied to join the drill team early this year. On Saturday, the officers will make their drill team debut at the 500 Festival parade in downtown Indianapolis.

The drill team is a subset of the IMPD traffic unit, which is home to the department’s motorcycle officers. Traffic unit commander Capt. Fred Ilnicki says drill team members are chosen based on their riding ability and the way in which they interact with the public.

“The guys that are on the drill team, they are a cut above,” he said, “They do it because they love it, being able to represent our department, our city, on sometimes a national scale is such a privilege.”

Ilnicki says all of the officers practice and perform on their own time and at their own expense. The drill team members still have police duties alongside the rest of the department during the month of May.

The team practices in parking lots around Indianapolis every Monday. The team often uses a lot near Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Georgetown Road, though this past Monday’s practice was moved to the parking lot of Blue Academy since the Georgetown Road lot was needed for other purposes.

Scott and Pettiford say learning the choreography has been both physically and mentally demanding. The department uses Harley-Davidson Road Kings, which according to the manufacturer, weigh more than 840 pounds in police spec.

Pettiford said, “The training of it has been, I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough trying to learn the choreography of it, knowing the spots, the position, the gas, the throttle, the brake, how to maneuver, I mean, all these little techniques we got to master in order to make it look good.”

Pettiford will ride in Position 12 this May, the last rider in the arrow formation. Scott will ride in Position 10, also close to the end. Scott said those positions primarily involve following the leader but still require close concentration to make them look good.

The officers say the best part about being a motorcycle officer, and a drill team member, in particular, is the reaction they get from the public.

Scott said, “The kids really are attracted to it, as well as the adults, especially when you see how you maneuver the motorcycles around. I think it’s a win-win for the department, and it’s a motivation for the officer after you go through the day-to-day policing.”

In addition to the 500 Festival, Ilnicki says the team performs at other events throughout the year including the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Circle City Classic, and the Veterans Day parade.