Posted on Sat, Jul. 19, 2008
The cavalry could be on its way back to Philadelphia.
Four years after Mayor John F. Street disbanded the mounted police unit, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said yesterday that he was exploring ways to get officers back in the saddle by the end of this year.
"You start off with four to six horses, and you grow from there," said Ramsey, who said he hoped to build up a unit of as many as 20 horses. "I would like to get something started by the end of the year."
Mounted units are popular with police - as well as the public - but they are expensive to operate. When Street disbanded the unit in 2004 and redeployed its officers, he did it as a cost-saving measure, although he never spelled out how much was saved.
Ramsey, who had a mounted unit during his time as police chief in Washington, said he hoped private donors could help offset some of the costs of the horses, trailers and equipment.
"If we get them subsidized, the cost wouldn't be an issue," said Ramsey, who this year disbanded several special units to put more officers into district patrols.
The return of the horse unit would agree with Walter Sasse, 70, who retired in 1991 after 19 years in the mounted unit. He said the equestrian patrols were effective at controlling crime and crowds.
"They should have never gotten rid of the unit in the first place," said Sasse, who runs Courtesy Stable, a small barn on the Roxborough side of the Wissahickon.
It wasn't the first time the unit was put out to pasture.
The department disbanded the unit in 1952, though the Fairmount Park Guard, at the time a separate force, kept its horses.
When Mayor Frank L. Rizzo merged the park police with the city forces in 1972, the department again had a mounted patrol. The unit had as many as 105 horses in the late 1970s, when the half-ton beasts played an important role in nudging rowdy fans after the Flyers and the Phillies won championships.
Sasse said he spent much of his career working the night shift in Center City, cutting an imposing figure on Chestnut Street.
"You could see all the way from Broad Street to the river eight feet up on a horse," he said. "And the criminals could also see you."
The department does not have a solid estimate for what it would take to operate a mounted unit, but whatever the cost, it is likely to be significant. Fort Worth, Texas, for example, budgets $1 million for a unit with 12 officers and 19 horses. Philadelphia's total police budget is about $500 million a year.
Ramsey said many other details still need to be worked out, including where the new unit would be located. He said he was talking with several jurisdictions in the region that are shutting down their horse units about acquiring their equipment and horses.
"A lot of factors have to fall in place," Ramsey said. "It's something I'm interested in doing and want to do."
Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or amaykuth@phillynews.com.
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