Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "mounted police unit"

You can lead a horse to water...

2009-11-13T05:46:47Z

Developers looking for ways to reduce crime in Sacramento's alleys have grabbed onto an idea that will draw mounted police.

That idea is to provide places where horses can get water and hitch up securely for short periods. While that conjures up Old West visions of water troughs and hitching posts for many, — including developers who described them as such — the reality may be much more 21st century.

An ideal way to provide water would be a small fountain or water feature such as the small Native American drum fountain at City Hall, said Sacramento police Sgt. Chris Taylor.

The idea is to make alleys more charming and useful, he said.

"Right now, our alleys — they're kind of no-man's land," Taylor said. "It's almost like we've made a social decision that we're willing to give them over to the miscreants and the bad guys.

"As a community, we don't strive to make them beautiful spaces where people want to be," he said. "If you change that and make them spaces where people want to socialize and do things that contribute to the community, then it will be a safer place because the bad guys will feel uncomfortable in the alley."

Taylor, who heads the Police Department's Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program, made a list of suggestions to make developed alleys safer.

Horse-friendly facilities are just one recommendation. The right lighting and more windows are two more.

Rather than flood alleys with a lot of overhead lights, Taylor suggests installing vandal-proof, heavy-duty footlights in pavement to create pedestrian-level light and eliminate hiding spaces.

"Some people think the more light you put in a space, the safer it is," he said. "What I'm talking about is a nice, even light that doesn't create harsh shadows. People can drop back into those shadows and think about committing a crime."

He also suggests that builders add windows that face alleys.

"If you look at our downtown, buildings are appropriately built to face the street," he said. "The back of the building was the alley. The front was much more heavily windowed.

"Buildings were built without a lot of opportunities for people inside to look out at the alleys," Taylor said. "I've encouraged them to consider adding widows to the alley side, so people in structures have more opportunity to look into the alleys. If (criminals) see a lot of windows, they're going to be less likely to commit a crime because they don't know who's watching."

For horses, Taylor recommends water features without high walls so horses can reach the water.

A place to hitch horses could be as simple as a ring secured to a concrete building or a metal decorative sculpture that could double as a bike rack, he said.

Design plans being considered for two pilot alleys stretching from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue would include public and private space. Horse-friendly features likely would go in private space on the property line, said Taylor and Stacia Cosgrove, a senior planner for the city.

Funding would come from private donations, not from money for public infrastructure, Cosgrove said.

California Highway Patrol's mounted officers are as likely to use the facilities as the city's mounted unit, said Taylor, who spoke to members of the CHP unit.

Mounted police officers would clean up after their horses in the alleys, Taylor said. The officers already clean horse droppings in Old Sacramento and anywhere pedestrians may go, said Sgt. Sherry Bell, who leads the Mounted Police Unit.

Mounted police can serve several purposes in alleys. They can be a deterrent just by being there, but in a way that builds community and evokes Sacramento's roots, Cosgrove said.

"If the police were to have a presence on an alley, to have them idle in a patrol car is not as warm and approachable as an officer on horseback," she said. "I think it would be a nice way to draw the community closer together."

Taylor said he was surprised alley developers have embraced features for horses. He's made the same recommendations to other developers, but the idea didn't get far — partly because their projects were further along, Taylor said.

"These people who are working on the alleys liked the idea and scooped it up," he said.

Photo by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Horse-friendly alleys discussed

2009-11-09T07:22:32Z

Sacramento soon may get something it hasn't seen in decades -- new water troughs and hitching posts.

And folks, that ain't nothin' to snort at. Especially if you're a police horse on your appointed rounds.

Seventy to 80 years after falling out of use, horse-friendly street hardware may make its way into alleys that are being developed as part of a new "alley activation" effort. A trough and a post, paid for through private funding, will be added first to one of two pilot alleys under development in the Handle District.

More are possible on other Midtown alleys as property owners get involved in the effort, said Julie Young, a developer who launched the organized alley-use movement here.

"I would suspect you would see those every four to five alleys," she said.

The idea arose when developers working on the alley projects asked the Sacramento Police Department what could be done with the alleys to reduce crime. Sgt. Chris Taylor, who heads the department's four-year-old Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program, recommended the troughs and posts along with certain kinds of lighting and a list of other suggestions.

That was welcome news to the force's tiny Mounted Police Unit. And to the furry ears of Bolo, Oak, Loot, Breyer and Ted.

The first trough and post will be installed in the pilot alleys, which stretch from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue. As a mostly public relations unit, the Mounted Police, led by Sgt. Sherry Bell, concentrate on Old Sacramento and K Street Mall up to the Sacramento Convention Center.

Places to water and tie up the five geldings will allow the unit to cover a larger stretch of its beat, which extends east to 19th Street. Officers currently venture that far once a week or when they get calls.

"If you have them, the mounted unit is more likely to travel down that way at lunch time, because they know that there will be water there and a place to hitch," said Sgt. Norm Leong, police department spokesman. "If there are services there for horses, the horses are more likely to use it."

Funding for the troughs and posts, which are recommendations only, would not come from the police budget, Leong said. Costs and funding haven't been worked out for areas other than the pilot alleys, Young said.

The unit wouldn't extend patrols throughout Midtown, but would have water and posts available if needed, he added.

Now, police horses get water at a large water feature at City Hall or from the decorative fountains at 13th and K streets. If an officer needs to dismount to take a restroom break, the horse must be tied to a tree or lamp post, which aren't always sturdy enough for the job.

The unit has been used during big events ranging from the 2003 protest against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Trade Organization to the New Year's Eve ball drop on K Street Mall last year.

"They say a horse is worth 10 people (officers) on foot for crowd control," said Billy Lyons, a 42-year veteran of the force who retired as a Mounted Police officer. "It gets the officer up high and they can see more."

During big demonstrations, Sacramento Police and the California Highway Patrol's mounted unit, which patrols the state Capitol, must get horse reinforcements from Sacramento County, Folsom, and Placerville and San Joaquin counties, Bell said.

Sacramento has had police horses since the Gold Rush. Horses carried officers and pulled police wagons through the streets until the 1930s or '40s. By the end of their era, there was just one mounted officer patrolling downtown and another patrolling Land Park, which once had a bridle path, Lyons said.

The police horse stable had been near Alhambra Boulevard and K Street.

Today, Sacramento's horses spend each night tucked away in a barn on Front Street. The building was part of a Navy and Marine Corps base built in 1937, and was used later used as a detox facility. The unit shares the barn with CHP.

Last week, a vet made a housecall to check up on three horses. Mounted Police officer Dave Turner walked horses while the vet watched. Other horses stood in the sunshine in turnouts and ready pens. Cats and a peacock named "Sam" roamed the grounds.

The Mounted Police Unit was revived about nine years ago by officers Mike Lopez and Allan Grundel, who put themselves through a mounted police school in San Francisco and won a $120,000 grant to start the part-time unit. The city's SWAT team helped build stalls in the barn. The officers had to buy their own horses. That unit proved its worth while working the Thursday Night Market, Bell said.

Two full-time officers staff the unit: Turner and Skyler Baldock. Bell oversees the department's Marine Unit and foot patrol, in addition to the mounted unit. Lyons and another retired officer have not been replaced due to lack of funding, said Bell. She's trying to re-establish a reserve unit of officers with their own horses.

Horse experience is not a requirement for joining the unit, but it helps. Lyons and Bell had horses in the past, but Baldock had no experience with the animals when he joined the unit.

A 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift includes feeding, cleaning and grooming horses; cleaning dung from stalls and holding pens; and taking care of tack — plus going out on rounds.

"They're not like cars. You have to be here twice a day," Lyons said. He's been with the unit almost from the beginning.

Officers also clean up after their horses if they poop in Old Sacramento or anywhere pedestrians walk.

The officers have developed strong bonds with the horses. Lyons and Oak have worked together for so long that the 20-year-old bay will kiss him over and over again, given the chance. The horse follows Lyons everywhere and knows how to open metal gates with its teeth.

Since retiring in 2006, Lyons has spent many hours volunteering to keep the unit going. Bell nicknamed him "Eye Candy" because she calls him to go out in parades, but not enforcement.

"He gives me so much time, I'd be lost without him," she said.

All but one of the horses are quarter horses. Bolo is a cross between a quarter horse and a Belgian draft horse. Baldock, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall, usually rides him.

Bolo's name was "Coors" when he first joined the unit. But that name didn't quite fit the Police Department, so it was changed to Bolo, which stands for "Be On the Look Out,"Bell said.

Six-year-old Bolo is the unit's youngest horse, but also the most stalwart.

"When it hits the fan, he's the guy you want to be on," Lyons said.

The horses are chosen for calm temperaments and trained not to react to situations that might spook other horses, such as sudden movements or people shouting.

Loot is another horse known for not spooking easily. That's partly due to his personality and partly because Loot's done the job longer than the other four horses.

"He's like, 'I know what I have to do and I want to go do it,' " Bell said.

The unit normally patrols or trains 7 days a week. Horses and officers may respond to fights, crashes, aggressive panhandlers and shoplifters. But usually, working with the unit is very different than other police assignments, said Bell, who's been on the force for 20 years.

Horses and riders spend plenty of time greeting visitors in Old Sacramento. They also represent the department in parades.

"I've dealt with some of the worst stuff you could ever see in society. But on the Mounted Unit, we get to deal with people in a positive environment," Bell said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. For more photos of Sacramento's Mounted Police Unit, click here.