MOUNTED UNIT

On July 10, 1871, the Board of Police established the first Mounted Police unit, to contend with the reckless galloping of saddle and carriage horses; a common problem of the day. At first, their official duties centered around Central Park and the Avenues adjacent to it. The unit consisted of one Sergeant, 12 officers, and 15 horses. Stables were located on 87th Street and 1st Avenue in Manhattan and 152nd Street and 6th Avenue. As the size of thew Mounted Unit was increased, its duties were expanded. Mounted officers were effectively utilized for parade duty by leading the parades to clear the line of march, and the tradition continues today. By the early 1900's the Mounted Unit was also assigned to demonstration duties and strikes, which is a practice still useful today in maintaining peaceful assemblages. The unit grew to almost 700 and became a battalion. During the mid 1900's, the unit was reduced in size. However, it maintained some formidable numbers. Mounted officers have served with distinction during visits of presidents, premiers, kings, queens, and other world leaders. During the visits of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II the unit deployed almost 400 officers. As stable space disappeared, the Mounted Unit has been reduced until reaching its current six hundred officers. The Mounted Unit's primary function is to protect life and property, to impartially enforce the law and to actively fight street crime both by preventing it and by pursuing violators. Also included in the unit's wide range of responsibilities is crowd control and traffic control, as well as active participation in the New York City Police Department's Community Policing Program. The Mounted Unit has earned the reputation as being the vanguard whenever the Department is called upon to police the events that involve vast numbers of people, for which the city is famous. Seldom is public attention so magnetically drawn to police as it is to an officer on horseback. A consensus of opinion is that a Mounted Officer is more approachable than an officer on foot or in a patrol car.

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