The Broken Arrow Police Department and the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office have been working together to train their department’s mounted officer units over the last weekend, Feb. 22 and 23. The training is a total of 40 hours across four days with officers amping up the stress for the horses to get ready for any unpredictable situations they may face, reported Fox23 News. Training took place at the Tulsa fairgrounds. The main aim for this training and the biggest benefit is that both departments’ horses are ready to meet the community when they attend events.
Deputy Kate Imhof with the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office explained that “Whenever we are working events, a lot of the time people do get excited to see the horses and they have balloons or maybe it’s a Halloween event where they are in inflatable costumes,” reported Fox23 News. With the horses training, these events can continue and will be patrolled by the mounted units without fear. Imhof continued about how they use mounted patrol units for search and rescue missions. Fox23 News reported, “A lot of the times when the horses are deployed on a search and rescue mission there’s a lot of uneven terrain. There’s a lot of different challenges they can come onto on the search,” said Imhof. The search and rescue missions add another element of benefit to the mounted officer team.
This training teaches the public that being a mounted officer is not just about riding the horse, it is about building a strong relationship between the officer and the horse. Horses are sensitive and can be afraid of birds and rabbits, even trash bags so this is impressive they are able to do this. This training desensitizes them to unpredictable environments.
Officer Conner Poole with the Broken Arrow Police Department said, “When we are out in those urban settings or those rural settings where you might come across some cars or houses, obstacles, a variety of obstacles in your backyard can make a horse go, ‘ah I don’t want to go in that area’,” reported Fox23 News. The horses are training with each other, alongside being comfortable with stress, such as seeing flares and hearing gunfire. Officer Poole reassures that this training builds up confidence in the horses and the officers, allowing them to build a relationship. Officer Poole reassured the public that these mounted patrol officers can help the department connect with the community, “It really breaks down a barrier. You know some people find it hard to walk up to an officer and talk to them on the street corner or even if they’re in their car. I’ve had tons of people come up and want to speak to me or ask me what my horse’s name is,” reported Fox23 News.
Broken Arrow Police Department explains that being on horseback allows officers to do more, giving them another tool to keep the community safe especially in crowd control and community engagement. Officer Poole explains that it means officers are easier to see in an elevated way to patrol events and search and rescue missions, reported News 6. The horses are all personally owned by the officers, holding a badge or a commission card for the city. When they are called upon or needed, the horse becomes a full-fledged police officer, however when they’re off duty they are part of the officers family, as would any animal reported News 6.
Officer Poole said the team can help in areas where a police car would have difficulty reaching, “We actually helped Wagoner County… attempt to locate somebody that was mental[ly] handicap[ped] that walked away from his family’s home and got lost in some dense vegetation. We were able to help and assist [with] recovery of him,” reported Fox23 News. Nicholas Yarbrough, a patrol officer at the Lighthouse Police Department admitted he is excited to see the team grow, with eight officers attending the event who must now continue to train with the horses for an additional 10 hours every month reported Fox23 News. Yarbrough said, “When we were going through the academy, one of my other officers had the idea to start a mounted patrol. I thought that was a great idea and I’ve always liked riding horses,” reported Fox23 News.
2 News Oklahoma reported that officer Poole’s horse was originally a ranch horse, and the others were used for horseback riding, with the horses only getting called to work if needed. The unit will make its first appearance publicly at this year’s Rooster Days Festival.
