(NY Times) Police Departments Downsize, From 4 Legs to 2

(Charleston, South Carolina) He was a 10-year veteran of the Charleston Police Department, specializing in patrolling this city’s palmetto-lined streets, improving community relations and keeping big crowds in check ”” until his unit was disbanded, a victim of budget cuts.

So this month he was put out to pasture, quite literally.

Napoleon lost his policing job, along with the other five police horses here, as Charleston joined the growing number of cities that have retired their horses and closed their stables to save money. The Great Recession is proving to be the greatest threat to police mounted units since departments embraced the horseless carriage.

Read it all from the front page of yesterday’s paper.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, * General Interest, * South Carolina, Animals, City Government, Economy, Law & Legal Issues, Politics in General, The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--