PITTSBURGH — The two men who started the Pittsburgh Police Mounted Unit are speaking out for the first time about the move to defund and disband the unit.
They are highly critical of that decision to get rid of the horses, and they don’t believe it’s in the best interest of the Police Bureau.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle sat down with former Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich and retired Pittsburgh Police Commander Ed Trapp to get their take on the move by city council to eliminate the mounted unit.
Both men told Earle that the horses are not only a public relations gold mine, but provide a unique and important vantage point for officers — especially during big events like the NFL Draft, which Pittsburgh hosts in 2026
“They have a calming presence and they’re real popular with the public,” Trapp said.
Trapp and Hissrich re-launched the mounted unit in 2017, after a 14-year hiatus.
It was also eliminated in 2003 when the city, facing serious financial struggles, was placed under state oversight.
Prior to that, the unit had been around for nearly a century.
Hissrich and Trapp were caught off guard that it’s now being disbanded a second time.
“When I heard it, I kind of got a knot in my stomach, and I think it’s a huge mistake,” Trapp said.
Trapp and Hissrich said that the horses have been invaluable during big events.
And they said with the country’s 250th birthday and the NFL Draft next year, the horses would play a vital role in crowd control and safety.
“We’re speaking hundreds of thousands of people and I think those horses would be valuable,” Hissrich said.
Hissrich said it didn’t cost much to launch the program as all of the horses, along with saddles and bridles, were donated.
Three Pittsburgh Steelers chipped in, along with some other local organizations to help purchase the horses.
So did Hissrich’s parents.
“I spoke to them and my mother says ‘you know, we want to we want to contribute to it’ because they thought it was a great idea,” Hissrich said.
“Didn’t cost a dime. They were all bought and donated to us,” Trapp said.
During the past eight years, Trapp and Hissrich say the horses played a key role during major city events, like Light Up Night, First Night and July 4th.
“For large special events, the officer was up four or five feet and able to see down into the crowds,” Hissrich said.
At a Kenny Chesney concert on the North Shore, an officer on horseback spotted an unconscious person in the crowd, and during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on the South Side, the horses helped track down a domestic violence suspect.
“They were able to move where cars couldn’t, and then of course, just basically pinned the guy at his car, he couldn’t go anywhere,” Trapp said.
Hissrich and Trapp said the mounted unit also played a critical role during tense moments at the Antwon Rose and George Floyd protests.
“Councilman Charland touched on the mounted unit. That’s also something I’ve been taking a look at,” said Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Barb Warwick at a budget hearing in November.
In December, Pittsburgh City Council unanimously voted to disband the unit.
Some members said that the $500,000 yearly cost is too much.
But Trapp said the cost is misleading.
“If you throw in officer salaries, benefits, overtime, stuff like that, you could probably get there, but the horses themselves you know with the feed, food and bedding and vet bills and blacksmithing, is nowhere near that, probably $100,000 range,” Trapp said. He argued that it’s a small price to pay for an important tool.
Trapp said over the years many of the officers assigned to the mounted unit have used their own money to pay for food and even vet bills.
One officer even took a sick horse to his own farm to nurse him back to health.
“That’s the kind of dedication that we had of the riders of the mounted unit, and to throw it all away seems foolish to me,” Trapp said.
The plan right now is for the mounted unit to end in June when funding is reallocated to the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.
But 11 Investigates has learned at least one council member is having second thoughts and suggested there could be a last-ditch effort to save the unit.
The unit had eight horses, but one was sent to the Allegheny County Police Department and another to Pennsylvania State Police. The unit currently has six horses. One full-time officer is in charge of the mounted unit. Other officers are assigned part-time to the unit.
Hissrich said, under the terms of the agreement, those who donated money to purchase the horses will be allowed to take them or designate someone to take them if the unit is eliminated.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
