Horses Laid Off as Cop Budgets Trimmed

Police, locals 'heartbroken' to see them go

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 27, 2009 11:04 AM CDT

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Horses Laid Off as Cop Budgets Trimmed — Members of the New Orleans Police Department's mounted patrol practice a v-formation at their training facility in New Orleans, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

It’s not just humans facing unemployment these days: horses are seeing their jobs disappear as police in Boston, Toledo, and other cities cut their mounted units, the Wall Street Journal reports. The units are said to bolster crowd control, with one mounted cop worth 15 on foot. And “our horses are probably photographed as often as Paris Hilton,” says a New York officer.

“I was heartbroken” to see the unit go, notes a Camden, NJ, cop. “Horses don't file grievances,” points out a police chief. Laid-off horses are staying at home in their stables or being given away. But some locals are spearheading efforts to put the units back in action, sending checks to a police department in New Hampshire and having a fundraiser in Ohio.
(More police stories.)

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