Dover police eliminate Mounted Patrol Unit as emotions run high

DOVER — Chief William Breault is eliminating the popular Mounted Patrol Unit, saying it does not serve the city Police Department’s top priorities.

“I know this decision will be disappointing to many, it will not be popular,” he said. “But I truly believe it is in the best interests of the safety of the community and the department.”

He made the decision after “months of review” and noted that the “issue is far more complex than simply bringing back the horses.”

The department has operated the two-person Mounted Patrol Unit for more than 20 years, with officers in the unit patrolling downtown on horses while interacting with the public.

The Police Department suspended the operations of the unit at the end of March as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Police Lt. Brant Dollemann said this week one of the two officers in the Mounted Patrol Unit retired in March and the other was reassigned to other duties.

Breault concluded that “continuing to support the unit would result in higher priorities in the department not being met, resulting in specific and real concerns to the department’s ability to meet our mission and have direct negative consequences on the public and officer safety.”

He announced his decision despite the fact the City Council received a slew of emails from residents supporting the unit.

Many councilors also spoke in support of the unit during a workshop meeting Wednesday night.

But they also acknowledged it was the police chief’s decision to make.

Breault said the city “is a much different place than it was 20 years ago.”

“Since 2010, our calls for service have gone up 22 percent” and the calls police respond to have changed substantially, he said.

“I spoke at length in my budget presentation about our violent encounters, our use of force increases, those are the things that trouble me,” he said. “If we don’t have enough cops in the streets, my fear is that we will either get somebody hurt, a member of the public, because we're not able to get there quick enough or with appropriate staffing, or one of officers will be in a position where they’d be through no fault of their own, forced to take action that is probably more severe than if they just simply had a backup officer with them.”

He noted that during an incident a few weeks ago it took six officers to restrain a person who had assaulted people in a city emergency room.

He described the man as standing 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing “close to 300 pounds,” who was clearly mentally ill.

Because so many officers responded, they were able to restrain the man without use of a Taser so hospital staff could sedate him, Breault said.

“Thank God that happened during our shift overlap … so we had enough officers,” he added.

He also described the Mounted Patrol Unit as “incredibly inefficient” and said officers spend 50 percent of their shift doing stable chores.

Although volunteers help care for and pay for the care of the horses, there is still a substantial cost to taxpayers to operate the unit, Breault said.

The average cost of paying the salary and benefits for the two officers during the past five years is $231,908 each year.

He plans to reassign one of the unit’s officers to a new downtown liaison position, and the other officer will go to the patrol division.

“I am not willing to be the police chief who has to tell a victim of domestic violence, ’Sorry that you had to be victimized because we didn’t have enough officers to respond because we were too busy doing other things,’” he said. “Or God forbid tell someone that their loved one was killed or injured or tell one of my officers’ family members that their husband or wife was killed in the line of duty because we didn’t have enough officers to provide backup.”

When the chief made a similar comment later during the more than two-hour council workshop, City Council Lindsey Williams cautioned him to be “really careful about creating false equivalencies between domestic violence victims and emergencies in the ER and the Mounted Patrol.”

“I think that’s an unfair comparison,” she said. “I think that there’s a false equivalency there in saying staffing the Mounted Patrol means that we’re going to have more domestic violence incidents.”

City Manager Mike Joyal interjected, saying, “That’s not what I heard the chief say. ... The chief was making a point about the safety of the public and the safety of officers in general, and the fact that in order to respond to calls for emergency he needs to have the staffing on patrol, and not dedicated to a special assignment.”

Earlier in the meeting, Williams stated the chief's decision represented a “fundamental change in how the Dover Police Department is going to be interacting with our community.”

“I think that there should have been more dialogue, there should have been more involvement, and as I shared with you and the manager back in April, I’m really concerned with the approach to this decision,” Williams said. “I think a big change like this deserved more public and more deliberation and more careful consideration, and true engagement with those involved, not just decide, announce, defend, which is what this feels like right here.”

Mayor Robert Carrier told Breault he was “also struggling with this.”

“This could not come at a worse time, people need something, they need a perk, they need (stability),” he said, and pointed to both the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter.

He asked if the remaining officer could operate the unit during special events.

Breault said he considered that, but decided against it, because the horse and rider “need time to build a bond.”

“This isn’t like parking a car for two weeks and then getting back in it,” he said, noting the horse could be used “in a crowd control situation or around small children.”

Deputy Mayor Dennis Ciotti pointed to all the emails the council received in support of the unit and asked the police chief if he’d revisit his decision sometime in the future.

Breault replied, “At this point, my intent is to end Mounted Patrol. I don’t want people to think in a month they’re going to come back. ... That’s not the case.”

He added later in the meeting, “I get it, I get why people are so upset by this.

“I’d love to be able to keep them, but to do so, and I can’t stress this enough, creates a hole in something else that’s a priority,” Breault said.

City Councilor Fergus Cullen credited the chief with making “a difficult but responsible decision under the circumstances.”

“Part of what I heard tonight is an extra $100,000 doesn’t really solve this problem by itself,” Cullen said. “What I also heard is that the chief is facing five and six retirements coming up. Five or six sudden retirements would be a much bigger problem than not having two Mounted Patrol officers.”

When officer Michelle Murch retired from the department in March, the unit lost one of its two officers, and no one wanted to fill her position, Breault said.

Joe Caproni, who was also in the unit, was reassigned during the pandemic.

Murch sent an email to the council before Wednesday’s meeting, offering support for her former unit.

“I spent many days, nights and plenty of blood sweat and tears working to make it what it was when I retired on March 20th,” she stated in the email. “Many of you know me and know my love and dedication to not only the mounted unit but to the community.”

The Mounted Patrol Unit, she wrote, “is a part of our community fiber reaching far outside of Dover’s borders.

“People from all over the state and further know about Dover, the city with the Mounted Patrol,” she wrote. “I have to say that I have met more people in my 14 years on the mounted unit than any other officer could do in 40 years on routine patrol.”

The presence of an officer on horseback “is a source of security and also a deterrent for crime,” Murch said.

“Is there any wonder why the taggings downtown have taken a sudden turn for the worse? No officer presence downtown. No omnipresent ‘horse cops,” she said.

City resident Deb Clough was one of many people who offered their support for the unit.

“I understand that due to the pandemic and likely other reasons as well that the program is currently suspended,” she said during her appearance at City Hall. “I do sincerely hope that the program will be reinstated when it’s prudent and possible to do so.”

She added that the unit is “one of the most unique things about the city of Dover.”

“It’s a source of pride and joy for many people including myself,” she said.