Anyone who has ever been to a Lakers championship parade or a protest has likely witnessed them galloping down the street or helping with crowd control. While the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mounted Unit may look like a relic from the old west, they are some of the most elite officers patrolling the streets of Los Angeles.

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mounted Patrol are highly trained officers who undergo years of training. (photo courtesy of the LAPD)

The LAPD Mounted Platoon began in 1981 as a way to deal with unruly crowds, but it can be traced back all the way to the LAPD’s formation in 1850. The unit was typically made up of part-time volunteer officers who were drawn from various units in the LAPD. They rode on horseback in addition to their normal duties with the department.

“We’ve got photos here from way back then,” Sgt. Mike Porter said.

The officers volunteered their time to train and developed new equestrian tactics for dealing with unruly crowds. They also donated their own horses and transportation.

The full-time Mounted Platoon was established in 1987 as a component of the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division. The city allocated funds for the purchase of 40 horses to be utilized by the officers during the performance of field duties. The Ahmanson Foundation donated funds to the mounted unit that allowed for the purchasing of eight trucks and trailers to transport the officers and the mounts to their patrol areas. The funds also allowed for the purchase of a state-of-the-art equestrian center to house the horses. The Ahmanson Equestrian Facility is located in Atwater Village and features a 40-horse barn, locker rooms, workout facility, covered riding area and administrative offices.

Lt. Tony Lomedico is currently the officer in charge of the Mounted Unit and he deploys the unit on their patrols. The unit consists of 24 officers who are out on patrol five to seven days a week excluding training days. The Mounted Unit typically patrols smaller areas that are saturated with pedestrian traffic, such as Venice Beach, MacArthur Park and the Hollywood area. They are typically assigned to one certain area for a period of time before moving on to the next patrol area.

“We may stay out at a certain area for a month or more,” Porter said. “It’s results oriented and once the statistics start showing a decrease in crime in the area we move on to the next area.”

The Mounted Unit’s general duties include crowd management for parades and celebrations, crime suppression and controlling protests and demonstrations.

Officer Joe Willey has been with the Mounted Unit for 16 of his 21 years in the LAPD. He said the unit does a great job of suppressing crime because of their high visibility on the streets.

“There’s nothing really stealth about what we do,” Willey said. “Because we are on horseback, we have high visibility so potential criminals see us and it cuts down on a lot of sidewalk crime, like burglary.”

Willey added that many of the Mounted Unit’s arrests typically involve narcotics.

The Mounted Unit is one of the most coveted positions in the LAPD.

“There is a list of people who would love to be in here,” Willey said.

But the process to becoming a mounted officer is not easy. An officer must first pass the test to enter the Metro Unit, a difficult task in its own right.

According to Willey, a police officer must be on the force at least five years. In that time they must gain experience working a special unit such as vice or gang prevention. Once the officer meets the time requirement, they must take a physical fitness test, conduct oral interviews and submit to an extensive background analysis. If an officer meets all those requirements, they become a member of the Metro Unit and are ranked based on their performance. The rankings are used to determine who will gain a spot on the Mounted Unit, if and when a spot opens up.

“It can be a process just to make it into the division,” Willey said.

Officers accepted into the Mounted Unit must then undergo 200 hours of equestrian training at Metro’s training school.

Willey, who has been the head trainer for five years, said the training course goes 10 hours a day, five days a week for six weeks.

“The training is very intense and physically demanding,” Lomedico said.

Some of the things the officers learn during the training include how to mount the horse in various ways as well as learning how to care for the horse through anatomy, physiology and first aid classes. While an officer entering the Mounted Unit typically has little experience with horses, Willey said that is rarely a problem.

“I’m typically dealing with the ideal student,” Willey said. “They are physically fit, disciplined and listen very well. They have to be that way just to be in Metro.”

As for training the horses, that is a longer and more delicate process. Willey said they submit the horses to sensory training before they are scheduled to be deployed to a demonstration where there will be a high volume of people. They are subjected to loud noises like drums to get them prepared for situations they may face.

“The training is an ongoing process with the horses,” Willey said. “The key is not to overwhelm the horse and to put the horse in a position where it wins.”

Willey explained one exercise where a crowd of people gather in front of the horse and then disperse as the animal approaches.

“It makes the horse feel like he moved the crowd,” Willey said. “That way he expects that to happen when they attempt it out in the field.”

While the horses do serve as a crime suppression tool for the LAPD, they are also a great community relations tool. Willey said there are many occasions where children and adults approach the horse for a chance to interact.

“When people see you in a black and white, they avoid you,” Willey said. “When you are on a horse, people approach you. We have a lot of exposure with the public.”

This is another moment where the officer’s training comes into play.

“Each horse has its own personality,” Lomedico said. “The officer needs to know its traits and properly prepare for a tour of duty.”

The Mounted Unit is a symbol for the LAPD of a time when horses were commonly used as the primary means of transportation. That was partly why Willey was so interested in joining the unit 16 years ago.

“It’s a traditional, historic job,” Willey said. “It’s how the streets were patrolled in the old west.”

Willey also had a more simple reason for joining the unit.

“I think I just always wanted to be a cowboy,” Willey said.