Philadelphia mounted police unit honors officers who died

In the chilly morning air Friday at a Bucks County farm, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey introduced the first five horses of his department's reinstated mounted police unit: Johnny, Pat, Stephen, Santiago, and Tiny Tim.

The steeds are named in tribute to five officers who died in the line of duty in 2008 and 2009 - Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, Officer Isabel [Santiago] Nazario, Sgt. Patrick McDonald, Sgt. Timothy Simpson, and Officer John Pawlowski.

"In getting the first few horses, it struck me that if the families would agree to it that it would be something to once again honor the service of their loved ones," Ramsey said, noting that the five officers had died during his tenure.

"There are a lot of benefits to having a unit like this," he said. "And I am just glad we have the public support that we need to get it off the ground again."

Ramsey said the horses would be useful for crowd control and in Fairmount Park, much of which is inaccessible by car. The mounted unit, disbanded seven years ago for budgetary reasons, will be on the street by mid- to late summer, officials said.

Ramsey said naming the horses for the fallen officers was an important gesture to the officers' families, who were in attendance at White Pine Farm in Richboro on Friday. The families chose the horses' names.

Jazmin Nazario, 17, Officer Isabel Nazario's college-bound daughter, embraced the tribute as she stood near the horse that now bears her mother's maiden name, Santiago.

"I just think it's something nice to honor her with," she said.

Isabel Nazario, 40, died on Sept. 5, 2009, during a police chase when the unlicensed teenage driver she and her partner were pursuing broadsided their cruiser in the city's Mantua section.

The horses were adopted from the Standardbred Retirement Foundation in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, N.J. Four of the five had served in the Newark Police Department's mounted unit, which was recently disbanded for budgetary reasons.

Ramsey hailed the new mounted unit as an important addition to the department and one to which city residents have responded positively.

The horses are "a crime-fighting tool," Ramsey said. "One horse is worth about 10 people when it comes to managing crowds, and certainly we have issues with crowd control in Philadelphia periodically."

John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, welcomed the unit's return.

"Its a good tool and a valuable tool for the officers on the street," McNesby said. He called naming the horses for officers "just a wonderful gesture. It goes a long, long way with the families."

The horses are standardbreds, a breed known for use as pacers and trotters that tends to be calmer than thoroughbreds, officials said.

The department, with the support of the nonprofit Philadelphia Police Foundation, expects to have about 12 horses and officers in the unit later this year.

Jeff Kolansky, a board member of the foundation, said the group had begun a campaign to raise $3 million to build barns and acquire horses and materials for the mounted unit. He said the barns would be built near Chamounix Drive in Fairmount Park.

Kolansky said donations for the unit could be made by going to www.phillypolicefoundation.org.