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Louisville police add computers to mounted patrol

Louisville police have added small, portable computers costing $3,300 apiece to the equipment used by mounted officers riding horseback patrols.
Louisville Metro Police Department mounted patrol officers, Justin Hardy, and horse, Fury, carry computers on horseback that can check records, and other information that other officers in patrol cruisers can during traffic stops.
Louisville Metro Police Department mounted patrol officers, Justin Hardy, and horse, Fury, carry computers on horseback that can check records, and other information that other officers in patrol cruisers can during traffic stops. Kylene Lloyd / The Courier-Journal via AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

Louisville police have added small, portable computers to the equipment used by mounted officers riding horseback patrols.

The computers, known as Mobile Data Terminals, are fastened to the breast collars and lie on the horses' backs.

Lt. Dan Assef, who oversees the mounted patrol unit, told The Courier-Journal the computers give horseback officers access to emergency dispatch and the police department's records management system instead of having to call in for information.

The terminals are similar to the kind of computers in police cruisers, but run on batteries.

Lt. Robert Schroeder, who oversees technology for the department, says each device costs about $3,300, and police currently have around eight.

Information from: The Courier-Journal.