LAPD Horse Patrol Delays Disbandment

The Los Angeles Police Department’s horse patrol officers have decided not to ride off into the sunset this month, as their script called for.

The 45 officers, who patrol on their own horses at events needing crowd control, had planned to disband because they could no longer afford to spend thousands of dollars out of their own pockets for the horse patrol.

While the policemen receive regular duty pay to ride in the mounted patrol, they supply the horses and trucks to haul them, not to mention paying for the animals’ upkeep and equipment. The unit members do receive 25 cents a mile to get their horses to the work site and their horses get free shoes.

But Lt. Dave Aikins, head of the unit, said, “Twenty-five cents a mile doesn’t buy many oats.”

When the officers recently threatened to disband, Chief Daryl F. Gates persuaded the volunteers to stay in the saddle until the department could make a formal proposal for a fully paid horse unit in its 1988-89 budget request.

$750,000 a Year

Final calculations are not complete, but it is estimated that a 32-man unit with 40 horses would cost about $750,000 a year. Police officials would like to see the unit fully funded immediately, but acknowledge that city budget restrictions may force the plan to be phased in slowly over a number of years.

The horse unit most recently patrolled during Pope John Paul II’s visit. In one incident at the parade, the foot patrol called for help when a boisterous crowd near 1st and Main streets spilled out into the street. When the horses appeared, the crowd immediately retreated. Police say that in such situations--including the 1984 Olympics, football games and protest marches--an officer and horse are worth 10 officers on foot.

The unit was started in 1981 by several officers who volunteered their horses for duty. Expenses were not a problem then because the horse unit worked only nine events that year. But the group performed 134 details last year, and the unit is expected to be called out nearly 200 times this year.

Officers estimate that they spend between $300 to $400 a month on room and board, veterinary bills, equipment, gas and insurance for the horse trailers.

Logistical Trouble

The officers practice several times a month with their horses on their own time, and they pay for the dues at the riding facility where they work out. (The horses and officers go through an initial four-week training program at the Police Academy before they become part of the unit.) Aside from financial problems, Aikins said, officers also have had logistical trouble dividing their time between regular station duty and their horse patrols.

“It’s a hassle,” said Sgt. Gary Fennell, who has been with the patrol five years. “But we’ve all let it go for so long because we love working on the horse patrol so much.”

City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who in the past has spearheaded several one-time appropriations of equipment for the horse patrol, said, “The city hasn’t supported them to the extent it ought to, considering their value.”

Most of the major cities in the country, including New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco, have full-time units. Los Angeles financed a unit for two years during the 1920s and for a limited time in the mid-’40s.

Request Was Dropped

Two years ago, Gates recommended that the unit be made a full-time unit in the department, but the budget was already finalized so the request was written up as a supplemental item. The request was dropped when officials agreed that the high cost of the project made it necessary to make it part of the department’s regular budget.

Gates said in an interview that cost is the big concern.

“The history of budgeting for the department the last several years has been poor, and there is nothing we can give up in exchange,” he said. “It may be that we will have to start the program in interim steps.”

Gates said that during the Olympics the horses were invaluable in crowd control, noting how well-trained they are. “It started out as an experiment, but the horses have demonstrated their worth. I’m sold on them,” he said.

The highly visible horses are also thought to be a crime deterrent, much like frequent car patrols are in some neighborhoods. “Suspects sometimes will think they can take on a policeman in battle gear,” Aikins said. “But they’re real reluctant to take on an officer and 1,200 pounds of horse.”

Better Vantage Point

The animals not only have greater maneuverability than patrol cars, but officers have a better vantage point--such as being able to see someone fleeing between parked cars or buildings.

Last year, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency provided $70,000 for a three-month pilot program using the horse patrol in the downtown Central Business District.

Four officers and horses worked the area bounded by Spring Street and Broadway between 2nd and 9th streets. And while crime did not decrease in the area, the horse patrols did make 265 of the area’s 705 arrests during the three months, including 29% of the felony arrests. The unit has also worked the Hansen Dam area, where it is difficult to patrol by car.

Like their human and canine counterparts on the police force, horses have been injured in the line of duty. At the 1986 Street Scene, 15 horses suffered cuts and bruises at the hands of bottle-throwing punk-rock fans.

Aside from crime fighting, officers laud their equine partners for their community relations value.

They are “fantastic public relations tools,” Aikins said. “Someone who wouldn’t dream of talking to an officer in a patrol car will come up to talk to you and admire the horse.”