Volunteer Mounted Patrol Saddles Up Once Again

Most San Fernando Valley residents are used to seeing police officers in patrol cars.

Or, perhaps riding on bikes.

Not too many, however, can say they have encountered police on horseback.

And after a year's hiatus, a green-shirted mounted patrol made up of Valley volunteers is gearing up to once again hit the streets, the parks and where ever they are needed, a technique proven successful in fighting crime.

The volunteers are separate from the Los Angeles Police Department official mounted unit outfitted with sworn police officers.

The volunteer team, trained and supervised by the LAPD, assists by canvassing parks and community events. They perform search and rescue efforts and are used to disperse any gathering of unsavory characters that might intimidate the general public.

Needless to say, they are the extra eyes and ears of Valley law enforcement. And it doesn't cost taxpayers a dime.

The volunteer mounted patrol, comprised of everyday people who love horses, started in 2006 at the West Valley Division.

At the time the proposed program began, LAPD officer Kim Snyder, was gung-ho about patrolling on horse.

Snyder was a horse lover. It seemed like a natural fit.

She papered the community with fliers asking for volunteers especially in horse-keeping areas, such as Chatsworth, Topanga and Tujunga.

The program kicked off and was a big success, but went cold in 2010 when Snyder was reassigned by the LAPD.

But now Snyder’s back.

She and a 30-member volunteer team, comprised of citizen horse owners, are saddling up once again.

“We don’t have a set schedule. Everything depends on the weather, the volunteers and the police officers’ time,” said Snyder as she and her partner, Officer Chris Rowland, groomed her horse, Raven, at the Trails End Ranch in Chatsworth on Saturday.

Snyder said horses are helpful in solving crimes, because they can go places where a patrol car can’t. She said horses are intimidating. It’s not uncommon for criminals to run from police cars, but for whatever reason they are less likely to run when chased by a horse, officials said.

Snyder said horses are good for search and rescue missions, patrolling shopping malls during holiday seasons when there is a high crime trend, and finding missing children in a crowded venue.

Eric Greely, a warehouse manager for an aerospace electronics company, was the first one to sign up as a volunteer to help out the police back in 2006.

“I was at a feed shop and saw the flier,” said Greely, a Simi Valley resident who boards his horse, Hotrod, at a friend’s home in Chatsworth. “I went to the meeting and then came back with my friends and they came back with their friends.”

Today, there are a dozen or so consistent volunteers in the program.

“I like the difference we make on a horse. It’s awesome,” Greely said on Sunday, as he patrolled the annual Persian new year’s festivities at Anthony Beilenson Park Lake Balboa in Van Nuys. “Sometimes nothing happens, and on other days we are very busy.”

Greely said he remembers not too long ago when two children, playing in the Van Nuys park, got too close to the water’s edge. He was able to alert the parents and avoid a potential sad situation that day.

“We have great view on horseback,” Greely added.

Greely also said children, oftentimes, dart out between parked cars chasing after balls. He has come to their rescue on several occasions.

Volunteer mounted patrol riders do not carry guns. They use cell phones to keep in touch with LAPD in case of an emergency. Usually a sworn police officer rides with them or is nearby.

Volunteers and their horses go through an LAPD training process. Not every horse qualifies.

In the meantime, the public is getting some free crime prevention in tough economic times as the city faces a massive budget crisis.