Fallen Nassau officers honored by elite mounted unit

Nassau's Mounted Unit has found a way to honor the five county officers who have died in the line-of-duty within the last five years. The unit's horses have become living tributes to fallen officers

News 12 Staff

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Nov 11, 2016, 4:47 AM

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Updated 2,962 days ago

Nassau's Mounted Unit has found a way to honor the five county officers who have died in the line-of-duty within the last five years.

The unit's horses have become living tributes to fallen officers Artie Lopez, Mike Califano, Charles Cole, Geoffrey Breikoff and Joseph Olivieri.

The elite mounted unit is housed at the stable at Eisenhower Park. There are 2,500 members of the Nassau Police Department, and only eight are part of the mounted patrol.

Before an officer moves from stable to street, there's an intense three-month training that goes way beyond learning to walk, trot and cantor.

"You have to be able to jump with your eyes closed, jump two feet with no hands, you also have to be able to turn on the forehand and turn on the haunches," says Sgt. Gary Rodetis.

The mounted unit is used primarily for crowd control, such as the Donald Trump rally in Bethpage.