CPD Mounted Unit preparing for patrol
The Mounted Unit is comprised of six volunteer officers.
Published March 5, 2010
The Columbia Police Department utilizes a special team of horse-backed officers for patrols and crowd control during the warmer months.
Created in 2006, CPD's Mounted Unit is comprised of six mounted police officers, all volunteers, from various departments. CPD Capt. Dianne Bernhard said the unit consists of two school resource officers, a patrol sergeant and patrol captain, a domestic violence investigator and a patrol officer. Bernhard, who directs the unit, said all six officers are volunteers.
Officers of the unit are responsible for the training, housing and care of their horses, which are typically quarter horses, CPD Sgt. Rob Sanders said.
The Mounted Unit is particularly useful with crowd control scenarios and giving an officer a better vantage point at events, Sanders said. Being atop a horse allows an officer to see further. Sanders said the unit also serves as a deterrent to starting problems, particularly in bar crowds.
"They know better than to start trouble, or they know where to get help if trouble is already started," Sanders said.
The Moonlight Hoops has been a problem in the past but has improved because of the Mounted Unit. The unit has been used to clear out the park at the end of the night, which has helped cut down on fights and shootings surrounding those events, Sanders said.
Sanders also said the MU Police Department has utilized the horses in various tailgating events.
The Mounted Unit's horses are selected mostly on their predisposition to noise and other intimidating factors, Bernhard said. The "flight reaction" of a horse is a crucial component to determining whether it is able to be a police horse.
"Their natural instinct when something is scary to them is to bolt," Bernhard said. "We train our horses that when they are scared they need to stand still."
The officers also complete a certification examination in St. Charles, Bernhard said.
"They go to a 40-hour police training where they are exposed to a number of things like police fire, balloons, cars and lights and sirens," Bernhard said. "The things that horses aren't normally exposed to, we have to have our horses exposed to. We have to know that they are going to be calm in those types of situations."
Sanders said he remembers a particularly frightening test during his certification in St. Charles. About 12 officers had to ride for a mile on the narrow concrete median on an I-70 overpass, lined up single-file head to tail.
"There was oncoming traffic and traffic coming up behind us (was) three lanes wide," he said. "The horses broke into an instant sweat within minutes from the stress."
CPD mounted officers continue training their horses on their own during the off-season, from November to March, using trainer Clinton Anderson's methods, Bernhard said. During the riding season, monthly group training sessions are held based on his training techniques.
An important part of training a horse is to make sure he is soft, Sanders said. He is working with his horse, Kurt-Z, to improve his response to commands. This means the horse obeys orders quickly and with as little force as possible.
"You know the saying, 'Talk softly and carry a big stick?' " Sanders said. "You want to talk softly and carry a very tiny stick, if you have to carry one." Kurt-Z is getting better every day.
The Mounted Unit is also used for public relation events, such as parades and ceremonies, Bernhard said.
