Buffalo's Ambassadors: The Erie County Sheriff's Mounted Unit

By Lynn Roberson

It's a nippy evening outside the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, and two mounted policemen stand sentinel at the entrance.  Their horses, in shaggy winter coats, are calm in the crowd.  One, in fact, appears to be dozing.  His name is Charger, and he has the look of a seasoned veteran.   

In a flurry of shopping bags and blowing scarves, a woman approaches Deputy George McGovern and Charger to ask for directions to Niagara Falls.  As Deputy McGovern and Charger help the confused tourist on her way, Lt. Wayne Wolf and Cowboy move purposefully up the block to head off a parking dispute. 

The Erie County Sheriff's Mounted Unit--five men, one woman and at any given time at least ten patrol-ready horses--are on duty, county-wide, regardless of weather or time of day.  Regulars at Ralph Wilson Stadium for home Bills games and special events, on guard at all major Convention Center happenings, participants in festivals from Allentown to Martin Luther King Jr. Park, the unit also escorts visiting VIPs like Bill and Hillary Clinton, assists in rescue missions and patrols concerts, demonstrations and parades. 

In most large cities such as Miami, Boston, Chicago, Manhattan, officer and horse are fully funded by law enforcement.  Accordingly, these units are first to come under scrutiny the instant budgets need to be cut.

Why?  Because the average annual cost, of boarding, feeding, shoeing and doctoring a horse starts at $4,000 a year, and that's in a very inexpensive city.  Even if the horse is donated, he needs a barn, a truck and a trailer for travel, a saddle, a bridle and training. For the officer, boots, riding pants and specialized instruction are vital.  All this, plus the officer's salary and benefits adds up to considerable expense.  There is always more when large animals are involved. Checking the bills, city officials ask, "Do we really need these pricey horses?"  Funding debates put Miami's mounted police in a perpetual fight to exist, yet they are the most positive face of Miami's troubled police force.

In Buffalo, the outlook for the Erie County Sheriff's Mounted Unit is radically different. Patrol horses belong to the deputy.  Each member of the Mounted Unit assumes all related expense.  "It costs $30,000 to $40,000 just to get started with a horse, a truck, a trailer and a stable," Lt. Wolf says.  "We raise money for equipment, like saddles, via our own non-profit corporation." The Mounted Unit has been at work since 1942, and all of the deputies intend to keep going.  "It's a tradition of community service that we are proud to uphold," Lt. Wolf says.   

As part-time, reserve officers paid an hourly wage, Buffalo's deputies don't deny themselves the pleasure of riding their own horses to work.  "We live with our mounts," Lt. Wolf says.  "I have two; Cowboy and Jake.  Cowboy here is 16, and he's seen it all.  Deputy McGovern's horse, Charger, is over 35-years-old, and he's raring to get in the trailer to go to work.  Our vet just checked these two out and said that having a job keeps them in the pink."

The Mounted Unit has zero tolerance for kicking and biting.  Their horses are usually in their teens, past all coltish skittishness.  Intensive training accustoms the horses to crowds of screaming people, belching diesels and blaring horns.  "They might lay their ears back when things get tense, but they mind their manners," Lt Wolf says.  "Any acting out, and they go home for good."  Charger doesn't look too worried.

When it's too much for Cowboy and Charger to pound their beat, their owners guarantee them a pleasant old age - a warm stall, plenty of oats and affection until life's end.  For the horses, a green pasture is a final destination. Their corpses are never sold for "meat products."  They retire with dignity, and are buried with honor.     

Working with an equine partner enhances the deputy's ability to engage the public.  "There's no doubt that a mounted officer is a serious crime deterrent," Lt. Wolf says.  "We have a great view of the area, and in turn, the horse makes us highly visible.  We can spot trouble, and trouble can spot us.  But all of us go out of our way to communicate with the public in positive ways.  On a horse, we are accessible and approachable.  People who are frightened of the police warm up to us because of the horses.  Kids that have never seen a horse light up."

Twice a year, the Erie County Sheriff's Mounted Unit puts a peak in their public service career.  The appear at "Mounted for Meals," at the Broadway Market for Easter and at Southgate Plaza for Christmas, invites the public to meet the Unit and to donate food to those who need it most.  All groceries and funds collected go to the Food Bank of Western New York for distribution during the holidays. The deputies created the event and, as volunteers, work every aspect of Mounted for Meals. 

"This year, the Niagara County Mounted Division is joining us," Lt. Wolf says.  "Our ultimate goal is to make Mounted for Meals"a national effort."  He gives Cowboy a solid pat on the neck for emphasis.  Charger tosses his head and looks wise. 

The Erie County Sheriff's Mounted Unit forges a link in a chain that has endured for millennia - that of human and horse working in concert.  As of January 2009, the link is strong here in Buffalo, and the chain seems likely to continue. 

Paul Murphy, director of the Convention Center says that he loves the MounteUnit at his front door.  "Along with the safety and the help, the welcome they give people is incomparable. They are Buffalo's best ambassadors."