Dallas Police Mounted Patrol Back in the Saddle
KXAS
With a $190 million budget shortfall the Dallas Police Department mounted unit's future was uncertain. Until now.
As Dallas faces a $190 million budget shortfall, the mounted unit was put on a list of possible services to cut.
On Friday, top brass within the department said they were "looking at the unit." But a different story came from inside city hall. Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans said the Mounted Unit will be funded in the next budget.
It was the first real confirmation from anyone inside city hall that the city planned to save the unit.
Even city council members were unaware that the Mounted Unit is now off the table. Both Council members Angela Hunt and Tennell Atkins vowed to fight to save the Mounted Unit, calling it a "valuable crime fighting tool."
The Department's top brass were also unaware that city managers had decided to save the unit.
One thing is clear, the Mounted Unit has a powerful ally. Sources inside city hall and the Dallas Police Department confirmed the Caruth Foundation, an organization that donates millions of dollars to the city each year, recently met with city higher-ups to voice the foundation's "extreme displeasure" with the possibility of disbanding the Mounted Unit.
As one officer pointed out, when it comes to policing, "what the Caruth Foundation wants, it usually gets."
Posted Thursday, Jul 16, 2009 - 8:27 PM CST
