So say mounted police officers everywhere. Good thing WPRI had already run their piece on the Providence Mounted Command before all hell broke lose this week. With the horrifying murder of two more black men by out-of-control cops followed by the Dallas sniper — all within days of each other — this feelgood item would never have made it to air.
But if we ever needed a calming link between the the police and the community, it is now. And while many cities have balanced their budgets by cutting the horses, the city of Providence managed to find a way to keep our mounted command up and running, with help from private sponsors.
The horses do perform real police work, but anyone who has ever watched the public interact with these officers and their horses knows their real value is in public relations. Says unit commander Lt. Michelle Guerette,
“Not only is it part of our history with the Providence Police Department,” says Guerrette. “It gets us back to our roots in the community. The horse bridges that gap with the community that we can’t always get when we’re doing our typical law enforcement duties. What people don’t know is we do a lot of community events as well. We do tours of the stables on a weekly basis for kids. We work with disabled children and the elderly.”
Seen here is Officer Patty Nichols on her beloved Hooligan. The public relations value of these two can not be overstated. I wish we could clone them both.