Baton Rouge horse patrols to return

Holden says BR will use officers mainly to keep panhandlers at bay

By SCOTT DYER
Advocate staff writer
Published: Jun 20, 2006

City-parish officials are planning to reinstate police mounted patrols, shown in 1985, to deal with problems associated with the homeless near downtown. The mounted police also could be used at festivals and at LSU and Southern University football games.

Police mounted on horseback are just one of the weapons city-parish officials plan to use to deal with the growing panhandling problem near downtown Baton Rouge.

“We are going to reinstitute policemen on horseback, who are primarily going to be utilized for the downtown area,” said Walter Monsour, the mayor’s chief administrative officer.

According to Morning Advocate news articles, the Police Department unloaded its five horses in 1987, claiming the annual maintenance cost of $10,000 was excessive.

But Monsour said  mounted police have proven to be effective in other major cities such as New Orleans, and feels they can be effective in Baton Rouge.

Monsour said he doesn’t have a cost estimate for the new mounted police program at this point, but hopes to have a brigade of four mounted police operating by August or September.

“The capital costs of acquiring the horses and the tack isn’t really that much. And with the price of gas these days, oats are cheaper,” Monsour said.

Monsour said the horses will be specially trained for police duty, and will provide police with access to areas that neither police cruisers or even bicycles can reach.

One of the duties of the police on horseback will be to help control panhandling and other activities associated with the homeless.

“We recognize that post-Katrina, our homeless population has, in fact, grown. We want to protect the rights of these individuals, but we certainly want to protect the citizens from any harassment,” Monsour said.

And Monsour said the mounted police officers also could be used to patrol festivals and special events downtown, and possibly at LSU and Southern University football games.

Councilman Mickey Skyring said he’s concerned that some of the panhandlers are becoming aggressive.

“I’ve noticed since Katrina that there has been a huge influx of — for lack of a better word, — tramps or bums or panhandlers. And they’re very aggressive,” Skyring said.

Story originally published in The Advocate