The Minneapolis Mounted Police Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that was founded to provide ongoing financial support to the Mounted Police Unit, a division of the Minneapolis Police Department.


The Foundation offers businesses and private citizens the opportunity to make tax deductible contributions toward maintaining the mounted unit, which in turn provides additional safety and security for citizens, employees, and visitors in the City of Minneapolis. The Foundation supports the Mounted Police in numerous ways, such as providing specialized equipment, funding for supplies, and ongoing training opportunities.


Furthermore, it allows financial support to continue positive community-oriented policing, outreach, and education. The Foundation conducts fundraising and public relation events to promote the mission and values of the Mounted Police in Minneapolis.

The Foundation operates out of the First Precinct- 19 N 4 St, Minneapolis, MN 55401

The Foundation

The Minneapolis Mounted Patrol Unit is highly visible and very well received by the public. Since 1996, the Minneapolis Police Department has been consistently represented by the horses and riders of the Mounted Patrol Unit. The unit currently has twenty nine riders, eleven horses, and functions as a citywide unit, covering all five precincts but is based out of central downtown 

The unit has one full-time Mounted Patrol Sergeant, three full-time Mounted Patrol Officers, and twenty five fully trained part-time riders.


The Mounted Patrol Unit is a valuable asset to the community for several reasons, including the following:

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  • Crowd Control - The expertise of a mounted unit officer in crowd control is renowned. The officers are used extensively at concerts, parades, sporting events, demonstrations, bar closes, and other events that take place throughout the year. It has been estimated that one mounted officer on horseback has the effect of ten officers on foot.
  • Crime Control - The height of a mounted officer on horseback allows them to be seen for blocks, presenting a greater crime deterrent; every mounted officer is at least 10 feet tall. The elevated position of Mounted Officers makes them six times more visible and helps to spot and deter certain types of crime. Being on horseback enables a mounted officer to see at greater distance as well as over privacy fences and other tall barriers. Mounted officers are also able to ride on horseback into areas where a squad car cannot go.
  • Search & Rescue - The mounted officers and horses are trained for search and rescue. A mounted officer can carry ample supplies and remain searching for long periods of time.
  • Large Animal Rescue - The officers on the unit are trained in large animal rescue, including trailer accidents, technical large animal rescue from mud, water, ice, low/high angle, animal search & rescue techniques, and wildfire evacuations. Our primary trailer is equipped with tools necessary to complete or assist in all the listed rescues.
  • Community Policing - Horses dissolve barriers and increase personal contact between the public and officers. Seldom is public attention so magnetically drawn to police as it is to an officer on horseback or having the ability to pet and meet the horses. The Mounted Patrol brings high visibility and presence, connecting them to the community they serve.


As a Resource

The Unit

​​MPD Detective Maurice J. Salmon, August 17, 1930

The unit currently assists with:


  • Neighborhood/Street Patrol
  • Crowd Control after Bar Closing
  • Planned and Unplanned Civil Disturbances
  • Outbreaks of Civil Unrest
  • Natural Disasters - Tornados
  • Large Animal Rescue
  • Concerts
  • Special Events
  • Sporting Events
  • Parades
  • Various Community Events
  • National Night Out