Knightdale — Police Sgt. Eric Daniels remembers that rush of freedom, the blur of the trees and houses as he pedaled his blue 10-speed bicycle around his home of Stantonsburg.

That’s why he wants to see that other children get that experience so cherished in childhood — owning your own bike.

Daniels came up with the idea of the police department giving unclaimed bicycles to charity after he watched a story on the news of bicycle man Moses Mathis of Fayetteville.

Mathis gives bicycles at Christmas time to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have one. He uses old parts and rebuilds some of his bikes.

“I really, really appreciate the police department,” said Mathis. “I couldn’t really fuction without people like the police departmtent.”

Mathis also has teenagers from the Cumberland County community service program to help him rebuild the bikes.

The program not only provides needy people with bikes, but helps troubled youth and teaches them skills they can use in the work place.

“Some people think police are bad guys,: said Mathis. “But there are some warm human beings under that uniform.”

Daniels thought the bike give-away program was a perfect solution to the bikes gathering dust in the storage room of the police department.

“It’s very rewarding to know that in a couple of months some child is going to have a bicycle that wouldn’t have been able to have one and to know that I was a part of that as well as the town,” said Daniels.

Lt. David Simmons said Daniels’ idea was a perfect solution to a dilemma.

The police department had been keeping the bikes until enough accumulated and then holding an auction for them. Proceeds went to a good cause — the Wake County School System — but it was just not the same as giving them away free to a needy child, Simmons said.

Plus, there was administrative time involved, and the auction didn’t bring in much money.

Daniels handles the program and also found a local charity to receive the bikes which gives them away — Helping Hands Mission.

“We work directly with families particularly those that can’t afford bicycles,” said Sylvia Wiggins of the Helping Hands Mission. If they are in good condition we might be able to give them away for Christmas.”

Wiggins said a volunteer fixes old bicycles before they give them away.

All the found bicycles are first checked out by examining old police reports to see if serial numbers match those of bikes reported stolen. If there is no match, police keep them for 60 to 90 days to make sure the owner does not claim them before giving them away.

Simmons said many of the bikes are abandoned after a child picks up a bike and takes it on a “joy ride” then dumps it in somebody’s yard.

Daniels said since last January, the department had given away about 50 bikes.