HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit consists of 21 deputies.
The Mounted Unit provides crowd control and security for fairs, business picnics, parades, and other major county events during the year. Members of the Mounted Unit are provided with extensive training throughout the year. Deputies must pass a prescribed mounted course with a score of 100 percent before they are permitted to work their mounts among the public.
Undersheriff Captain Valerie Weiss says just by their size for crowd control the Mounted Unit is excellent.
“These are volunteers from the reserve unit who get paid for certain security detail, but they have their own horse, have to get certified with the horse and learn how to shoot from the horse and do different things. In a crowd control situation, one horse can do so much more. Horses can cover more ground in a search and rescue situation too.”
The deputies provide their own uniforms, equipment, and mounts. The Mounted Unit is a very effective method of law enforcement, as mounted officers can patrol in areas not easily accessible to patrol vehicles and have better crowd visibility than deputies on foot patrol.
The Mounted Unit provides crowd control and security for fairs, business picnics, parades, and other major county events during the year. The Sheriff’s Office will be lookiing for more volunteers as the year comes to a close with training in the winter.
Sgt. DeVries is available for questions and comments regarding the Mounted Unit and may be contacted by email.
