Horseback patrols for the Seattle Police Department will end in the coming months
Oct 1, 2024, 12:06 PM
Members of the Seattle Police Department on horseback push back protesters on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, as they remove tents pitched in downtown Seattle's Westlake Park and arrest those who refused to leave them during an "Occupy Seattle" protest. (Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)
(Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) announced Monday it will begin decommissioning its Mounted Patrol Unit over the next several months, citing resource constraints. The unit, with a 150-year history, has been used for various missions, including crowd control and park patrols. In recent years, it has primarily served community events, ceremonies, and memorials, funded by donations from individuals and organizations.
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The department has faced a significant reduction in officers over the past four years, necessitating a focus on emergency response and criminal investigations. “Our highest priority is maintaining the ability to respond quickly to emergency calls and effectively investigate dangerous criminal behavior to ensure community safety,” the department stated. This shift in priorities means reducing resources for work that does not directly support these critical functions.
Maintaining the mounted unit is complex and resource-intensive. The horses require ongoing care, which involves expensive facilities, trainers, and caretakers to ensure their health and well-being, even when they are not actively deployed. “The animals deserve a great deal of ongoing care, which we can no longer sustain given our current resource limitations,” the department explained.
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The decision to decommission the unit was not made lightly. “We recognize the deep and abiding relationships that so many inside and outside of SPD have developed with the Mounted Patrol Unit over the years,” the department said. Efforts will be made to find compassionate and meaningful transitions for each of the horses. Some may be repurposed to serve the community in other ways, such as therapy horses. Additionally, former owners of donated horses will be given the opportunity to reclaim them.
The SPD expressed its gratitude to the community for its support of the Mounted Patrol Unit over the years and emphasized its commitment to public safety and effective resource management during this transition period.
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email him here.
