Horseback Patrols Part Of 100 Additional Officers; Residents Would Also Like Clean-Up Crews
In addition to bringing in more than 100 additional officers, many from surrounding departments, and setting up a “command center” on 2nd Street, the police presence for the 4th of July in Hermosa Beach, CA, includes deputies on horses from the LA County Sheriff’s Dept.
The deputies patrol the 2-mile-long beach and The Strand, providing them with mobility that officers on foot cannot equal. If needed, they are able to respond to an area fairly quickly, as The Strand is often so crowded with people that getting up and down it can be difficult.
This is one of the police traditions in this Los Angeles coastal community in which house parties once ruled the South Bay – there’s less than a dozen or so now as opposed to 20 or more just about five years ago – and underage drinking is now the biggest issue police face on the 4th.
The horses are now almost as much of a Hermosa Beach institution as the Ironman. Which, by the way, is where the sheriff’s deputies start their day. They sit atop their horses at an observational distance during this unique Hermosa event.
While the horses attract attention and provide an extra measure of security to keep the calm – relatively speaking; after all, it is the 4th of July – during the day, not all home owners and renters are thrilled with their presence.
That’s because the horses make a mess in the sand and on The Strand. And the deputies often do not have someone trailing behind them to clean up after the horses. So it’s left up to the residents to pick and clean up the mess. I know this from first-hand experience because I’ve done it on several occasions and know of other people who have done it, as well.
And let me say when a horse or a group of horses lays down a trail, it goes on for nearly a block and has such a smell that it needs to be immediately cleaned, including hosing down the entire area.
Perhaps this year, in addition to all those extra officers, Hermosa Beach will also bring in a cleaning crew to follow the horses.
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