A “cherished” horse who for seven years provided a perch for Minneapolis police officers in the department’s mounted patrol unit died Saturday following complications from surgery.
Minneapolis police horse dies during surgery
The Minneapolis City Council recently slashed the budget for the officer-and-horse teams, disappointing department leaders who say the mounted patrol unit helps fight crime.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 12, 2025 at 4:46PM
Haven, a 16-hand-tall gelding whose breeds included Friesian, Shire and Quarter, received treatment Friday for intestinal issues, Chief Brian O’Hara said in a release. The equine, who was born in 2008, showed signs of recovery before suffering a medical emergency and dying during surgery.
“Haven wasn’t just a horse; he was a vital part of our team and a bridge between our officers and the community,” O’Hara said in the release, touting the “positive and meaningful interactions between officers and the public” that officer-and-horse teams foster.
Haven’s death comes as the mounted patrol unit faces deep budget cuts — and calls from the department for preservation. Critics view police officers on horseback, a crowd-control tactic and mainstay at concerts and games in Minneapolis since 1994, as an antiquated form of policing. Department leaders say the approach is an effective and visible way to tackle crime.
The Minneapolis City Council in December reallocated one-quarter of the unit’s $521,000 budget to crime prevention, needle pickup and transportation services. That decision disappointed O’Hara, who in a previous interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune characterized the budget cuts as political — “not based on facts,” but ideology.
He told the newspaper that command staff were exploring philanthropic opportunities to fund the unit. The release announcing Haven’s death mentions two nonprofits accepting donations: the Minneapolis Police Mounted Patrol Foundation, and “Friends of the Mounted Patrol,” a tax-exempt group administered by the Downtown Council.
Haven, for whom the department will host a memorial in the spring, “was steadfast in chaotic situations and approachable to the community,” the release reads. He earned “the admiration of those who worked with him and countless citizens who met him.”
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