Horses and officers continue training for Knoxville Police Department’s new mounted patrol

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) is currently training their new mounted patrol officers and their horses for an upcoming initiative that will bring mounted officers to areas of downtown Knoxville and events.

Now three weeks into training, the officers have spent over 120 hours with their horses.

The department recently bought two three-year-old Percherons from Mounted Patrol International LLC in Texas using $39,000 in federal grant funding.

KPD officials said the unit will offer officers a high-visibility, elevated way to patrol Knoxville events and downtown.

Officers said that the inspiration came from the data that has shown the benefits of the patrols, such as Nashville.

“We’ve seen the success that they have had [in Nashville], I mean that visible presence downtown,” KPD Public Information Officer Scott Erland said. “They have a very vibrant downtown as we have a very vibrant downtown here in Knoxville. And again you get to talk and interact with some of those officers and units. Some of those departments who have had or have mounted patrol units, we just see the tremendous benefits of it.”

KPD will have the horses stationed in areas downtown such as Market Square, the Old City and Gay Street.

The department also plans on increasing their horsepower in the future. The Downtown Business Alliance has pledge to buy the department two more horses, expanding the patrol.

“You know, horseback riding in a downtown urban environment is much different than horseback riding on trails or wherever it might be, show riding, anything like that,” Erland said. “So that’s really been the big focus has been building that relationship, understanding what it means to care for and take care of a horse. And then all of the foundational stuff all the way up to the most advanced stuff that theyre doing.”

While there is not a date set for the horses to begin their patrols, Erland said they plan to have them out during this quarter, hopefully around April.