ANDOVER - Police Sgt. John Pathiakis popped a wheelie over the curb behind the Public Safety Center and just like that his T3 training was complete.

"I've now graduated," said Pathiakis, one of three members of the Andover Police Department qualified to ride the three-wheeled electric scooter, which looks like a Segway Personal Transporter on steroids.

"We call it Chariot 1," said Pathiakis. "It was either that or calling it Big Wheel."

Earlier this year the town bought a white and black T3 for about $8,000 for police use. After debuting on a downtown patrol June 1, the vehicle has since been used three or four times a week in the area, said police Chief Brian Pattullo.

"We were seeing other police departments that had been using them, so we decided to give it a try," said Pattullo. "It allows for good operation in confined places like the downtown."

Patrolmen Gregory Scott and Edward Guy also have completed the T3 training, which consists of zig-zagging through road cones and hopping a street curb.

The vehicle has a zero-degree turning radius - meaning it can turn on a dime - literally - can reach up to 20 mph and weighs 240 pounds. While two-wheeled Segways in other police departments have sometimes led to officers injuring themselves, Pattullo said the T3 is both sturdy and mobile.

And, like a Segway, there's no gas tank to fill.

Powered by a pair of 20-pound battery packs, the vehicle can run for between five and six hours. Andover police have also bought two additional batteries in case the others run out.

Pathiakis patrolled the annual Fourth of July fireworks on the T3 to mixed reviews from the public. While riding down Main Street yesterday, children pointed and grinned at him.

"Teenagers think it's silly. Everybody else thinks it's cool," said Pathiakis. "It's great for working a crowd because you're 8 inches higher than the public. ... It makes the officer more visible."

The T3 also is equipped with a siren and flashing lights, and Pathiakis said it presents some advantages over driving in a police cruiser.

"It's a little tough to handcuff them (criminals) and drag them on to this," said Pathiakis. "If (an officer) wants to do real community policing - if he wants to get in with the people - he can't do it in a cruiser."

The T3 is ideal for officers who otherwise might be walking a beat, said Public Safety Officer Bob Cronin.

"For guys on foot patrol, it certainly gets them where they have to be a lot quicker," he said.

Pattullo said not all of Andover's police officers have bought into using the T3 for patrols.

But Pathiakis said many in the department were skeptical at first about using mountain bikes on patrols, too.

"And then they saw how practical it was," said Pathiakis. "And this has some practicality to it."

After spotting Pathiakis downtown yesterday, Ron Maddocks of Framingham described the sight of the sergeant riding down Route 28 as "bizarre."

"Obviously, those must be a lot more expensive than a bicycle," said Maddocks. "I think it's just more eye candy than anything."