| Featured Article - April
2006
In The Shadow of Equus Brigadier
|
||
| 24
February 2006. It was a routine day when Police Constable Kevin Bradfield saddled up his service horse 'Brigadier' and left the Horse Palace on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, home of the Toronto Police Mounted Unit, to patrol the streets of Scarborough, on the east side of Toronto. Soon the afternoon light would give way to the street lights of the evening. But Const. Bradfield had no idea that, in those dancing shadows of the night, he and Brigadier were on a fateful path with destiny. A distance away, a man was lined up at a drive-thru ATM bank machine where he agitated people by trying to jump the queue. Someone called the police. After an initial encounter, he drove away. But then, witnesses say, he turned around, sped back down the road at high speed and drove his van straight into Brigadier, tossing him into the air and shattering two legs, as Const. Bradfield crumpled to the ground with serious rib, leg, and neck injuries. In the ensuing chaos as the police and ambulance rushed to the scene, the driver sped away. But before that fateful night was over, Brigadier, writhing in agony in his own blood, would be humanely destroyed by a service officer’s bullet. What possessed that driver to deliberately slam his van into Brigadier, knowing the pain and suffering he would cause the horse and rider? Why is there nothing in the Criminal Code that would allow police to lay charges when a service animal is deliberately injured or killed in the line of duty? Few animals are as admired or respected as police service animals. And when they pay the ultimate price for serving in harm's way, the public’s grief and rage is palpable. Of all policing divisions, the Toronto Police Mounted Unit, through its equine ambassadors, probably garners the greatest positive, and supportive, response from the public. They are certainly the most recognisable. |
The
Unit itself has had a long and chequered history since its formation in
1886, when it patrolled the outlying areas of the city and controlled
speeding transport horses. Today the Unit, which consists of 27 horses
(plus one coming in to replace Brigadier), 35 regular riders and
trainers, and six sergeants, conducts regular patrols and crowd
control. Brigadier was a nine-year-old, 16 hand Belgian cross weighing some 1,500 pounds. He was a great big gentle giant commanding a huge, awesome presence with the public and enormous love with children. Just as he was intelligent and courageous, like so many horses of his stature he was equally inquisitive and sensitive. He was everything a police horse should be. Brigadier began his police career in 2001 and, like all horses that are assessed by the Mounted Unit, he went through a test period to determine his quietness and dependability. "We have a horse (for testing) for two weeks," explained Police Constable Steve Noble. "We look for horses that are relatively calm and green broke. We select large horses for the intimidation factor and put them through some paces." Then he added with a smile in his voice, "If the horse can go out on the road and not stand on his hind legs, we will usually keep him." After a vet check, the six months of training starts with basic, classic schooling before learning all the specialty skills required in their line of work. They must receive sensory training and become conditioned to the many situations they would be exposed to in their working life, including the closeness of crowds, thrown objects, loud and unusual noises, heavy traffic, and how to work as a whole unit with other horses. "The idea is that the horse understands he won’t be hurt," said Const. Noble. "He wins every time." Read Margaret Evans' column "In The Shadow Of Equus" each month in Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal
|
|