AUSTIN, Texas – Austin police officer Laney Sunyich starts her mornings scooping poop. She’s on mounted patrol, the unit within the Austin Police Department (APD) that operates on horseback.
She takes care of all the police horses, but she has a special bond with one of them: Galizur.
“We work together every weekend on Sixth Street,” Officer Sunyich said.
Galizer is an 18-year-old Hanoverian who's retiring from the department soon. He could have a year or two left, or he might leave sooner. A new horse needs to be trained and ready to replace him before he can retire. Until then, Galizer and Officer Sunyich will be partners.
“As much as I love every other horse in this barn, there’s something about this horse,” she said. “He’s got a great personality. We get along. I care about him more than I can describe. You can ask some of the other officers in the barn. They always make so much fun of me. I walk him and give him a big kiss on his face every morning. They think it’s hysterical and probably embarrassing.”
Officer Sunyich graduated from the police academy in 2017. She was a patrol officer until a year ago, when she joined mounted patrol. It’s a competitive unit to get assigned to because most officers don’t want to leave. Officer Sunyich said you usually have to wait for someone to retire for a spot to open up.
“I knew I wanted to come to this unit, so very early on in my career, I started riding out with the unit,” Officer Sunyich said. “[I] would come out and just pick poop, muck stalls and just be around to kind of do busy work, just so my face would be around here and they’d get to know me and I would get to know the horses. And I loved it because I just loved being around horses.”
She went through mounted school last year. It’s an eight-week program where officers learn basic equitation like how to ride, groom and care for a horse. They also learn how to handcuff, do a traffic stop and chase people, all on horseback. When Officer Sunyich went through mounted school, there was no opening on the unit.
“They were just going to use me as an overtime officer,” she said. “And about halfway through the mounted school, one of the officers actually ended up leaving just for family issues and the commute. It ended up working perfectly that I was already halfway through the school and was able to take his spot.”
Mounted patrol has 10 officers, three supervisors and 16 horses. The horses also go through training. It could take six months to two years to get them ready for police work.
“We just kind of take it at the pace of the horse,” Officer Sunyich said.
There are two horse trainers with APD. First, horses get used to loud noises and music. Then they’re taken downtown to walk on trails, near vehicles and around crowds. Once they’re comfortable with the day shift, they'll start training on Sixth Street at night.
On weekend nights, six horses are stationed on Sixth Street. Officer Sunyich and Galizer wrangle crowds and help break up fights. Officers are often yelled at and sometimes people hit the horses. They’ve also been spooked by gunshots and fireworks. One of the horses is still working through the trauma it experienced on New Year's Eve. Despite everything, Officer Sunyich holds her head high.
“I just remember that I get to work on a horse with the best partner ever so it makes it all worth it,” she said.
Officers on foot depend on mounted patrol.
“A well-trained officer and a well-trained horse is equal to 10 officers on foot. They can do the same job as 10 officers on foot,” said Sgt. Julie Payne, who’s been with APD for 25 years.
Sgt. Payne has heard on and off about defunding mounted patrol, but the unit faced its most serious threat in 2021. She gives APD’s executive staff the credit for keeping the unit around.
“Our executive staff has been just a rock for us and completely behind this unit the entire time,” Sgt. Payne said.
Now, Sgt. Payne is focusing her energy on bridging the gap between police and civilians. Horses play a big part in that.
“They’re just wonderful, wonderful beings and tools to help build relationships with the community,” she said.
When Galizur retires, Officer Sunyich will take him home. She bought land just for him and another police horse she’s adopting, Scout. He and Galizur are best friends, too.
“I was always planning on buying land and having horses, but when I found out [Galizur] was close to retirement and needed a home, I made sure I had it before he retired so I could take him home with me,” Officer Sunyich said.
Officer Sunyich and Galizur are a team and their bond will carry on even after he retires.
“I care about him more than I can describe,” she said.