The vehicles assigned to most sheriff’s deputies are patrol cars. Larry Murphy’s assigned unit is a pickup truck, a horse trailer and a horse. He is the only full-time member of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department Mounted Patrol, and his new role is resident deputy for Falcon.”The resident deputy really was kind of a good fit for me with my background,” Murphy said. “I was raised on a ranch and worked on ranches in northwestern Nebraska.” Murphy also worked at sale barns and feed lots in Nebraska until he moved to Colorado in 1992. “I used to rodeo quite a bit,” he said.He joined the sheriff’s department in 1995, and his first assignment was the metro jail. “The mounted unit started as collateral [part-time] duty for about 10 of us in March 1996,” he said. “We had our own horses and riding experience.” At that time, the sheriff’s department kept five horses at Penrose Equestrian Center on the southwest side of town. In 1996, the division hosted a 40-hour basic mounted police school at the center. Murphy then moved to the patrol division in 1997 and was assigned to mounted patrol when that unit went full time in March 1998.After moving the horses from Penrose to a facility in Black Forest where the city mounted patrol boarded their horses, the county mounted unit moved into their own facility on Bradley Road in the summer of 2001. They now have four horses at the barn, all owned by the sheriff’s office and purchased through donated funds. All members of the mounted patrol take turns doing barn chores.The unit has 17 auxiliary members who are called when needed for special detail. As the only full-time member of the mounted patrol, Murphy is involved with almost every assignment that calls for horse/rider teams. The unit will be at the upcoming Air Force Academy graduation, and Murphy anticipates having eight horse/rider teams to patrol parking lots and assist Air Force security forces. Other details worked by the mounted unit include Pike National Forest, all USAFA football games and the El Paso County Fair.Sheriff’s office policy requires that two horse/rider teams go out together. “Back when I had two people, there wasn’t very much in the Falcon area,” Murphy said. “The Safeway wasn’t even there.” Now with the area growing, he hopes to have a mounted patrol presence in the area as soon as they add another full-time mounted deputy.The resident deputy program is a new pilot program started in August 2004. Just as Murphy is the only full-time mounted deputy, he is also the only resident deputy in the department. The program was developed to provide a consistent law enforcement presence and response to citizens’ needs. Murphy is on 24-hour call for the Falcon area. “But we don’t want to get him out of bed every 15 minutes for a call for service,” said Stephen Way, Murphy’s supervising sergeant. “The regular district car that is assigned to this area of the county handles the primary calls for service, and then if something’s going to require follow-up or additional citizen contact, we refer those cases to Larry. That way Larry is familiar with all the people out here. They get familiar with him and develop that confidence and that bond with law enforcement.””What I foresee when we get set up with the horses is that people will come out and talk to me,” said Murphy. “It may be the only time a lot of these folks ever get to visit with a peace officer when they’re not under stress. Just being around, being seen, taking the time to visit with people – that’s my job.”Murphy has recently handled several mediations between neighbors who had disagreements. Issues often arise over the care of livestock. “People moving out from the city don’t know what to expect from livestock out in eastern El Paso County,” said Way. Callers are often worried about horses and cattle they think are not being cared for properly. “These calls fit perfectly within Larry’s area of expertise, and he can go out and handle those calls without a problem,” said Way. Sometimes it’s a matter of educating the caller about rural livestock management. But, if an animal is sick or underfed, Murphy lets the owner know what steps need to be taken and then keeps an eye on the animals. “But if we have a situation where there was abuse and it was relatively evident, then we call the humane society and have the animal impounded at our request,” said Way.Murphy is also working on getting a farm/ranch watch program started. He has developed a booklet with useful information on preventing crime in the farming community, including setting up security zones on your property and completing a security checklist.”We don’t have the manpower to knock on everyone’s door, but we’re making progress,” said Way.
