Sheriff plans Mounted Patrol substation near Amherst
By Brandi Makuski
Sheriff Mike Lukas has secured a one-time grant through the U.S. Department of Justice, and he’s using it to help his department expand its footprint.
Literally.
The PCSO will hire four new officers — and four quarter horses — over the next 36 months using a $4.5-million Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant it was awarded through the DOJ. The additional funding was made available through President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, though Lukas said the unusually large award will likely mean Portage Co. won’t be eligible for additional grant funding for a long time.
Citing the County Board’s slow crawl towards making any decision on a new county justice center, Lukas said the four new deputies will staff a new mounted division, housed at a Mounted Patrol substation at Hwy. 10 and Hwy. B near Amherst.
The new deputies will be patrol rural neighborhoods and communities on horseback, at least part-time.
“Their usual patrols will take place in squad cars, but when the weather permits, they can be closer to the communities they serve by being out there on horseback,” Lukas said. “Just like we have our K9 officers, people feel a little more comfortable approaching a law enforcement officer when they have the dog around, and the horses will do the same thing.”
Lukas said his department has requested a budget increase from the County Board every year for the past six, hoping to boost its numbers to help address a growing problem with meth and fentanyl, especially in rural areas of the county. He and others in his department have grown frustrated with the lack of approvals, prompting PCSO to apply for a series of grants.
“We never thought we’d get this one; Portage Co. is just one of 72 counties in the state. We’re not the biggest, we don’t have any crazy increase in crime, so we were surprised we won,” Lukas said. “But we’re going to use the heck out of that money.”
The Mounted Patrol will likely be launched in spring 2024, Lukas said, and start out with one deputy, one new squad, and one horse, working part-time in the yet-to-be-constructed substation. Additional horses and personnel would be phased in.
At some point, inmates at the Portage Co. Jail with a record of good behavior can apply for “stable duty,” helping care for the horses and cleaning the stables, Lukas said.
Although the idea of horse patrols predate automobiles, this is the first time it’s been used in Portage Co. in recent history. Larger Wisconsin communities, like Milwaukee, use them in dense urban areas and for parades and other ceremonial duties.
Lukas said the Mounted Patrol will also be a unique asset in searching for missing persons in places where a traditional vehicle can’t go.
“When you’re searching a wooded area, or a farm, or other rural places, having the horses will be a tremendous tool for us,” he said.
Lukas added the Mounted Patrol will likely be a big hit at county fair events, and may tweak an interest in a law enforcement career for rural high schoolers.
“It serves a practical purpose but [also] what we’ve been trying to do is encourage more kids and teenagers particularly, but everybody really, to see that the sheriff’s department, that police officers, are approachable — to strike up that dialogue in friendly conversation where there’s that trust that builds up,” he said.