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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Horse enforcement

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "irvin lichtenstein" <ilichten1@verizon.net>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Horse enforcement
  • Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 23:56:45 -0400

Unfortunately there are no mounted rangers in any state or federal parks or
forests in this area. We do have some bike patrols and water safety patrols.

In 20 years of riding in the public parks I personally know of only one
other incident. In that case a large group of high school delinquents tried
to assault a female rider after dark (when the park was officially closed).
She kept her head and outran them back to the barn where she was met with a
patrol car. There was a report some years back of a pack of dogs going
after a rider in the Wissahickon area of Fairmount Park resulting in her
being thrown off a bridge. Other versions of this story state it was a pack
of bicycle riders. There are verified reports of bicycle packs running down
other bicycle riders and pedestrians. And the Philadelphia Police are still
looking for the Fairmount Park Rapist/Murderer as far as I know. He goes
after single female joggers on foot.

I have trained my mount to get me out of Dodge and I have recommended the
same to all MSAR in teams I work with. There are certain triggers that
raise his alert status -- gunshots, screams, and close approach by anybody
over 4 feet tall (he likes kids and blondes). Almost any verbal command at
that point will get him moving away at high speed.

It is not a normal search environment to have be fully defensive. First, we
deploy in 3 or more per task. We avoid criminal track downs because cops
can do it better (and they have Kevlar and guns). The areas that are suited
for MSAR are not suited for foot traffic. There is a totally different
philosophy between police on crime patrol and MSAR on a search. I am much
more aware of others in the area when riding recreationally--mostly because
of the small number of other riders in sight, lack of monitoring by a
command post, and lack of authority to do anything other than call it in and
run. When training or searching it is a felony in Pennsylvania to interfere
with or harass search animals so we can report it and get action.
It is also interference with a public safety agency's authorized operations.
And I have never heard of anyone being prosecuted for anything, including
perps who shoot police dogs chasing them.

The Mayor of Philadelphia John Street is rumored to have a plan to cut crime
in the largest urban wilderness in the country if not the world. He is
planning a referendum to merge the state created Park Commission with the
City's Department of Recreation and then sell the 9400 acres of park to a
housing developer. He is also hosting several hundred Katrina families while
the list for public housing grows with some people waiting over 11 months in
homeless shelters for available housing that the city owns but doesn't want
to bring up to code because it costs money.

Former Mayor Frank "take no prisoners" Rizzo eliminated the Park Guard by
merging them into the city police, but he did restore the mounted city
patrols for a while. Street traded the horses for bicycles.

-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Jorene Downs
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 9:39 PM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Horsemanship and such / Mounted SAR to include ATV?



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