Officers Cody Bunn, left, and Tim Ruiz of the Metro Police Mounted Unit patrol the Las Vegas Strip on Friday, Dec. 7, 2012.
Published Monday, April 13, 2020 | 4:50 p.m.
Updated Monday, April 13, 2020 | 6:05 p.m.
Las Vegas police said that amid more than 100 layoffs, the department’s eight-horse equestrian unit is being disbanded as a cost-cutting measure spurred by the coronavirus.
Metro Police made the announcement today, listing some of the 112 part-time positions it eliminated last week.
Among some of those who’ve lost their jobs so far are a forensic lab assistant, a Spanish interpreter and a polygraph examiner.
“As agencies in Southern Nevada continue to grapple with the unprecedented economic impacts of the coronavirus mitigation efforts,” police said, “(Metro) will continue to make crime-fighting its chief priority as it no doubt faces many difficult decisions in the upcoming months.”
Three of the positions eliminated were staffers from the Mounted Patrol Unit, including a wrangler and an animal care specialist.
The Mounted Patrol Unit was established in the summer of 1998 with two officers, two horses and a sergeant. It had since grown to four officers, eight horses, three part-time staffers and a sergeant.
“With tax revenues expected to fall to historic lows,” police said, “(Metro) took pre-emptive steps to soften the blow by dismantling the Mounted Patrol Unit — a small outpost of the organization that serves as a support function to patrol by aiding with crowd control and community outreach.”
Two officers and two staffers will transfer the animals to new homes in the next couple of weeks. Several horses will retire and one will be returned to its original owner, police said. The officers will be shifted to regular patrol shifts.
Crowd control will now be handled by bicycle officers, police said.
The coronavirus had killed 101 people in Clark County as of Thursday, infecting at least 2,444, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.
