Rochester City Council started holding budget hearings on Tuesday.
Part of the discussion included the mayor's proposal to get rid of the Mounted Patrol Unit from the police department. The seven officers assigned to the unit would then be sent to other parts of the city to tackle the uptick in gang violence.
Councilman Adam McFadden is the chair of the Public Safety Recreation and Youth committee. He says having officers on horses in downtown has proven valuable...
"When there are 500 kids in the area they have a terrific line of sight that an officer on foot, in a car or a person on foot or in a car would not have. Also in terms of crowd control, I’ve seen those horses stop stuff that was getting ready by standing there and backing into somebody."
McFadden says he’s noticed city residents are more likely to approach a police officer who’s on a horse.
“In a time when we're questioning what do we need to do to build that relationship, you're thinking about stripping away one of the positive things in terms of community building we have with our police department."
Police Chief James Sheppard agrees horse patrols are valuable to the community. However he says the mounted patrols are typically the first place the department looks at - in terms of making reductions or moving resources...
"Because generally when we talk about providing police service in the community, we think in terms of 911,” Sheppard says. “[If] somebody’s going to call, they want someone to respond and want them to respond quickly."
The city is trying to close a $42.7 million structural budget shortfall.
City Councilmembers are expected to vote on the city's budget on June 18th