USA TODAY: Other cities, including Newark N.J., are still disbanding their mounted units, but Philadelphia plans to bring back cops on horses this fall — if a private foundation can raise $2 million to fund the patrols until the city can afford to take over the cost.
With recently successful pro sports teams and rowdy Saturday night street scenes, Philly needs police horses for crowd control, says Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who also championed mounted police in Washington, D.C., when he headed the police force there. The city also needs better relations between residents and the police force as it struggles with a high crime rate, and horses can help there, too, Ramsey says.
As police officers say, no one ever asks to pet a squad car… (more)
