Possible revisit of a mounted police

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Posted December 31, 2021 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

During the Dec. 21 Ocala City Council meeting, Councilman Barry Mansfield asked Ocala Police Department (OPD) Chief of Police Mike Balkan, who was presenting the police report to the council at that time, why Ocala, as the Horse Capital of the World, no longer had mounted police.

“The police force had a mounted horse unit until late 2003, early 2004,” explained Balkan. “I know that because I supervised it. And I won’t speak for Chief Williams, but he met with me shortly after his appointment and asked for that team to be disbanded.”

Balkan said he agreed with Mansfield that if any law enforcement agency should have a mounted unit, it would be the City of Ocala. But, he admitted, it’s an extremely expensive unit to maintain, listing vet, feed, and housing bills as potential barriers towards bringing the unit back.

“It’s something we’d need to find financial support to make happen,” Balkan added. “It’s something I’ve been toying with as it relates to our strategic plan. I think it’s important.”

For Mansfield, a potential mounted unit would have a positive effect on public outreach in the city.

“I would think in the community, especially in the horse community, we’d have to be able to raise some kind of funds for this,” said Mansfield.

Historically, Balkan explained to the council, other agencies have based their success with a mounted unit on the number of arrests produced, much like regular patrol units. When in reality, he stressed, mounted units should be seen more as a series of deterrents.

“It’s kind of hard to miss a cop, sitting 10 to 15 feet in the air,” stated Balkan. “I think it’s a great idea and we’re going to move forward towards obtaining that idea down the road. But it is costly. I think that’s one of the reasons we did away with it a number of years ago.”

The chief of police also mentioned plans for housing any potential mounted unit in the expansion area located behind the current police headquarters, after rezoning, along the railroad tracks.

“In the end,” said Balkan, “you’ll see a presentation from me in our upcoming budget for a mounted unit.”