There are 32 steeds, mostly quarter horses, ridden by a lieutenant, two sergeants and 16 other officers assigned to the unit full time.
A cloudy afternoon just outside the Griffith Observatory had a touch of a John Wayne film set — a half-dozen or so Los Angeles Police Department officers in pristine Stetson cowboy hats sat atop horses wearing gleaming saddles with the LAPD’s initials carved into the leather.
LAPD’s Mounted Unit pushes back protesters to City Hall’s park in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. The department’s mounted platoon patrols as above-the-crowd eyes, including at parades, and, the LAPD says, serve as a way to bond with those who might not otherwise approach a cop except for the horse.
Rogers was standing next to the arena at LAPD’s spread in the Glendale foothills that includes that barn, well kept by the cops and two civilian caretakers. There are 40 stalls, washing spaces and offices — with photos, ribbons and news clippings lining the walls.Day-to-day, the unit operates somewhat like the others within the LAPD: Officers get assignments, prepare their gear and go into the field.
In 2021, the department arrested 269 people, including making 34 felony arrests and 107 misdemeanors. Of those, 63 were for drinking alcohol in public, roughly two dozen for possession of a controlled substance and about 10 for a robbery or a burglary. “They target homeless people non-stop,”Gude said. “One time I saw them give a guy a ticket for throwing a cigarette on the street. … I feel like they target quality-of-life incidents.”
“Are they stopping real crime?” Gude figured. “No. Are they going after petty things? Yes. Could bicycle cops do the same thing? Yes,” Gude said. “But kids love them. Kids come up and ask for pictures, and in Hollywood, it’s tourists.”
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