BC mounted unit gets put out to pasture

It was a concept 57 years in the making that lasted eight years when it finally came to fruition.

It came to a quiet end earlier this month as the city council approved changes to Boulder City code requiring that the chief of police establish a voluntary mounted police unit. The new wording of the chief’s job description takes that requirement out.

The city is quick to point out that this does not mean that the mounted “officers” that have become a staple at local events are going away. In fact, it appears right now that the mounted volunteers will largely be the same folks that have been at most recent events.

The need for a change was largely driven by a single retirement.

Police officer Scott Pastore told the council that back in 2017 he heard that BCPD Chief Tim Shea was looking to start the mounted unit that was called for when city code first went into effect way back in 1960.

“So, I took advantage of that and we built this solely with myself and a few volunteers,” he said after the chief called him to the podium after the council had recognized the group in the meeting on Nov. 10. “And, you know, little by little, we added a few officers over the years, a reserve officer and full-time officer and a part-time marshal. We couldn’t have done it without the help of a lot of the volunteers that were part of the group over the years and we had plenty of them.”

The new group made up of mostly the same people is called the Southern Nevada Mounted Unit. It is based in Boulder City and is tied to the Mounted Horse Foundation, the same fundraising group that helped raise money to fund the old PD mounted unit.

All of this was tied to an agenda item which substantially changed the language in the city code —adopted in 1959 and in effect since 1960 —that described the duties of the police chief. In addition to removing the requirement to establish a mounted unit, the changes pretty much rewrite the old code in ways more attune to the social mores of 2025 than 1959. A reference to protecting property and life became life and property and traffic enforcement substitutes now for references to juvenile delinquency in the old wording.

The resolution to make the change passed unanimously without discussion.

Pastore outlined the advantages of cops on horses.

“Some people have trouble talking to police officers, but when you have a horse, it kind of takes that away,” he said. “I’m glad and thankful that I had the opportunity during my career to do that. And hopefully with the new volunteer unit, the SNMU, they can carry it forward and be those new ambassadors for the city of Boulder City.”