‘No one takes joy,’ in decision to disband KCPD mounted patrol unit, chief says
In an effort to combat the city’s high homicide and violent crime rates, Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith announced Tuesday that he has disbanded the popular mounted patrol unit and its officers would immediately be reassigned.
“No one takes joy in making these difficult decisions, but it is the right decision for the operations of this police department and the citizens of this city,” Smith said during the monthly meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners.
“We have to make some adjustments and make sure that our violent crimes unit are staffed at the capacity they need to be staffed at,” he said.
Eight additional officers to be assigned to the homicide unit as a result of the move. The department is seeking to fill 42 vacant police officer positions.
“People are dying in our streets. This is a serious topic and this is a priority for all of us,” Smith said.
Smith said he met with members of the mounted patrol earlier Tuesday and alerted them of his decision, which took effect immediately.
The police department will begin to explore ways to create a possible multi-jurdsictional patrol unit, he said.
Mounted patrol
The mounted patrol unit had been used for crowd control during parades, large protests and other major outdoor events. The unit helps patrol entertainment districts such as Westport and the Country Club Plaza.
It also is part of community engagement efforts such as visiting neighborhoods.
However, Smith said additional resources were immediately needed to tackle the city’s homicide and crime rate. As of Tuesday, there were 131 homicides in 2019, according to data kept by The Star which includes fatal police shootings.
The police department reported there were 27 drive-by shootings with 51 victims in October.
In August, dozens of members of the Friends of the KC Mounted Patrol attended the police board meeting to voice their opposition to any decision that would eliminate the unit.
“We are very disappointed in the chief,” said AliceLee Hollister, a longtime member of the group. “I understand where he is coming from but this is not way to do it.”
Hollister said the police horse unit has many supporters and they planned to raise public awareness about the chief’s decision.
“It was a shock, it was out of left field,” she said. “It wasn’t on the board docket, I was just as surprised as everyone else and saddened.”
Police budget
The Police Department has allocated about $649,000 for the mounted patrol unit in this year’s budget.
Two years ago an outside consulting firm that studied the police department called for eliminating the mounted patrol section and reassigning the officers where needed, such as in patrol units.
Denise Phillips, a longtime Kansas City resident, said the mounted patrol unit is often a bridge between urban core residents and the police department. Children and their parents would often flock to greet the horses whenever the unit visited their neighborhoods.
“How are people going to trust the police if they never do meet them other than a law violation,” Phillips said. “I am very sad for Kansas City.”
The horses, which are donated, would be returned to their owners. The facility where the horses and the mounted patrol unit are housed is owned by Kansas City, which would take over its operations, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a police spokesman.
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 2:36 PM.
