Photo Courtesy Dreamstime_s_24409748
Police officers sitting on glossy mounts
are a nation’s friendly ambassadors—dubbed 10-foot cops because together they
can be spotted even in a crowded area. The team draws children of all ages—one
partner is often patted on the nose—and they are amongst the most popular
couples ever to be photographed by a camera. The mounted police help with
traffic, manage crowd control, rein in lawbreakers and encourage busy citizens
of and visitors to a city to pause, admire, and smile.
London’s
Bow Street Horse Patrol became the
first mounted police force in 1760 and employed eight men though many
historians believe the first use of mounted horses began with King Charles’s Articles of War published in 1629. Sir
John Fielding, the Bow Street
magistrate, produced a plan for mounted patrols to deal with highwaymen who
preyed on travelers using the roads that led in and out of the city. By 1805,
more than 50 men—dressed in scarlet waistcoats, blue greatcoats and trousers
and black leather hats and stocks—were able to protect all the main roads
within 20 miles of Charing Cross. Their role changed in
the early 1800s when poverty in rural areas led to the theft of domestic
animals—the patrols carried swords in addition to sabers as apprehending
thieves was considered a highly dangerous job.
Between 1800 and 1850, mounted police
units were founded in Dublin, Ireland
and Calcutta, India.
Australia used
mounted patrols during the 1851 gold rush and to hunt fugitives who evaded the
law. Today, the units locate people lost in rough country and recover stolen
domestic animals.
Horses have been used by New
York City’s police since 1845. By 1857, officers rode
horseback to halt runaway horses and carriages. A headline in The New York World—written
on September 9, 1897—tells
this story.
“Policeman Stops a
Runaway Trotter.”
“Mounted
Policeman Frawley and the bay Stallion, Belton, driven by John Kelly, figured
yesterday in a big but unexpected event at Fleetwood Park...The wild animal shot past the field and reached the head of the
stretch when Policeman Frawley seeing the situation dug the spurs into his
horse. The race to the wire was a hot one, but the policeman won...leaning he
caught the runaway by the bridle and stopped him a few feet beyond the judge’s
stand.”
The
United States Police Horse-Mounted Unit, created in 1934 with one horse rented
from a stable, is one of the oldest police equestrian organizations in the United
States. Parks with equestrian paths, a
stretch of land, picnic grounds, and ball fields could be more efficiently
safeguarded by horse patrols than by foot patrolmen or vehicles. Horse mounted
patrols were later expanded and used in Washington,
D.C.’s Metropolitan area, New
York City, and San Francisco
during parades, and public meetings.
Approximately 30-years ago, The Boston
Parks and Recreation System formed The Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit in nine
parks—called the Emerald Necklace—designed
by Frederick Law Olmstead more than a century ago. San
Francisco’s mounted patrol unit began with 30 steeds
helping to protect the city, today there are 13 patrol horses in Golden
Gate Park—training
is difficult—they must follow commands and go through a program that acquaints them
with the clamor of large, urban areas. The horses are skilled at crowd control
on New Year’s Eve. Curious and friendly, the horses make a noticeable impression
and can restore order without injuring people.
Beginning in 1899 and for more than a
century mounted officers could be seen all over Philadelphia
including Fairmont Park,
and Rittenhouse Square. Today
twelve officers remain. Philadelphia’s stable of fifteen horses include a Dutch
horse who performed a series of difficult exercises in his former career in
dressage, and a rescued Belgian draft who had worked pulling farm wagons.
Horse-mounted patrols are used by the Los
Angeles Police Department, established in 1987, as part of the Metropolitan
Division. Thirty-five policemen and forty horses are present at assemblies,
festivals, parades, public parks and beaches during the summer plus the search
and rescue of lost and missing persons in mountainous and dense terrain.
A mounted police officer, his uniform a
vivid red coat and a Stetson hat and his horse have represented Canada
since 1880. “The Mounties always get
their man,” is a familiar saying to anyone that loves motion pictures.
Height, weight, gender, age and
disposition are important. Large horses—approximately 15.2 hands tall and
between a thousand and twelve hundred pounds compliment the weight of sturdy
officers. Police departments prefer horses between three and seven years
old—Clydesdale mixes, American quarter horses, and Tennessee Walkers—who will
have a long career on patrol encouraging warm personal relations between the
mounted officer and the communities they serve.
Despite the fine work achieved by the
mounted police, their numbers have diminished. Police cars, motorcycles,
bicycles and foot patrolmen are seen more often today while the elite horse
mounted units are used as a supplement to traditional patrol units, for crowd
control and for special occasions such as parades and funerals. The horse
continues to encourage warm personal relations between the mounted officer and
the communities they serve—ambassadors of good will.
Bests,
Elise
Scene Stealer, my cozy mystery, may be purchased through Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Carina Press and wherever ebooks are sold.
