Four patrol horses have been donated to the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department after the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in Cumming, GA, discontinued its mounted patrol this year.
The donation has almost doubled the number of horses for SCMPD's Mounted Patrol Unit which brings them to a total of 9 horses. It also prompted the addition of one officer bringing that number to six.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office also sold SCMPD a trailer capable of hauling four of the mounts. Police Chief Willie Lovett said the additions will present opportunities to expand the use and presence of the mounted patrol. “Mounted officers have a commanding presence in specific instances that are invaluable to police work and they have a calming effect in others,” Lovett said. “We have grown to appreciate their abilities in huge crowds, such as the St. Patrick’s Day Festival. And their patrol in neighborhoods is never overlooked by the residents there. Everyone is fully aware their neighborhood is being patrolled when the officer is on horseback. We are extremely grateful to Forsyth Sheriff Duane Piper and his department.”
The new additions to SCMPD's Mounted Patrol Unit include a 17.2 hand, 7-year-old Belgian/Thoroughbred Trakehner named Jackson; a 17.2 hand, 6-year-old Belgian Thoroughbred named Lee; a 16.5 hand, 5-year-old Percheron Shire named Grant; and an 8-year-old, 17 hand Belgian Thoroughbred named Sherman.