Sorry, Mayor Lucas: Kansas City police don’t need to bring back the horseback patrol

After a quadruple shooting and a series of vehicle break-ins overnight Sunday near the Power & Light District, Mayor Quinton Lucas offered a possible solution to the crime surge: The Kansas City Police Department should “consider reinstatement of our horse-mounted patrol units,” he tweeted Tuesday.

Reducing violent crime in Kansas City will never be easy. But a mounted patrol isn’t an effective crime-fighting instrument. Yes, the department and community as a whole would be well-served if police increased their visibility during special events and large gatherings. But police officers looking down from horseback as they hover over those they serve has never been good optics.

The mayor’s message came after four people were shot after a rap concert and a string of car break-ins late Sunday night. On Monday, in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, seven people were fatally shot and many others wounded in a mass shooting during a Fourth of July parade.

“As more challenges present themselves in entertainment districts and mass gatherings locally and nationally, it’s worthwhile for our police department to consider reinstatement of our horse-mounted patrol units, which enhance security and visibility for our crowds,” Mayor Lucas tweeted.

Under the perception of an increased potential of violence at public events, do we really need to harden parades and other mass gatherings with officers on horses? The answer is no.

Street-level policing on foot would better deter violence during concerts and other events. Bicycle cops could be an option, too, especially in crowded places where there is a need for more interaction with the public than vehicle or horse patrols can accomplish.

One-third of American adults say fear of mass shootings prevents them from going to certain places or events, a 2019 American Psychological Association poll found. Fear affects how nearly one-quarter of adults live their lives.

After six months of terrible violence around the country, including the recent holiday weekend of mass shootings, that number will surely rise.

Through Monday, 78 people have been homicide victims in Kansas City, according to a database maintained by The Star.

In 2019, Kansas City police disbanded their mounted patrol unit. Then-Police Chief Rick Smith said at the time the officers on the horse patrols were immediately needed to help tackle the city’s homicide and crime rates. The department had allocated about $649,000 for the mounted patrol unit in that year’s budget. An outside consultant had recommended doing away with it to save money and streamline logistics two years earlier.

As we said then, the horse-mounted police are popular but unnecessary in an increasingly violent Kansas City.

Three years later, we remain opposed to the mayor’s proposal to bring the unit back.