Out from the darkness of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office stables in Livonia step Hogan and Ace into the sunlight. The massive size of the horses is intimidating enough, but on this day they are dressed in full riot gear.
It's Wednesday afternoon — the day before the NFL draft begins, and, as part of the preparation, sheriff's deputies strapped onto the horses the large, clear plastic eye guards, long leather and metal face shields and reflective strips around the animals' front ankles and necks. The gear is meant to protect them and make the mounts stand out if they have to push through and disperse a massive, rowdy crowd.
The horses, both Tennessee Walking Horses, face the biggest assignment of their careers: Policing the NFL draft in Detroit on Thursday and again on Saturday. The event is expected to draw a crowd of 300,000 or more over its three-day run, and animals from various law enforcement agencies, which includes police explosive-detection dogs, have to be ready.
“We started preparing for the draft about five months ago," Lt. Phil Migliaccio of the Wayne County Sherriff's Office told the Free Press. "We reached out to other facilities to train with new dogs and get used to that and try new venues and new odors for the dogs to detect. As far as the horses go, it’s hard to duplicate a crowd like that … it is hard to pretend there’s 400,000 people. So we’ll do the best we can with it."
In total: Six horses and about 50 dogs will be on guard to offer security during the NFL draft days, said Sgt. Lacey Polderdyke of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.
Polderdyke, who rides Hogan, and Deputy Michael Dennis, on Ace, will be riding from early afternoon to late at night, possibly early morning hours, during the draft. They and their mounts will patrol the perimeter of the event, doing mostly goodwill public relations. But the riot gear that they fitted to the horses Wednesday will be ready in case the 1,200-pound animals need to break up a crowd, Polderdyke said. The horses offer another advantage other than crowd control: They can maneuver quickly if there's a medical emergency, getting a deputy in a position to offer first aid until medics arrive.
The dogs will mostly sweep venues for any type of explosives and are trained to do other police work if needed.
Hamming it up with glitter
Wayne County has five horses, but only Hogan and Ace will work the draft. They may have an additional horse, one of Hogan's sisters, join them on Saturday when a reserve officer is available to ride. Besides the riot gear, Polderdyke decided to have a little fun with the horses. She painted their hooves with Twinkle Toes Glitter in Honolulu blue and silver. It was a scene stealer as the horses made their way through the crowd Thursday and bystanders remarked about the horses' hooves.
The Detroit Mounted Police had four of its horses on duty for the draft, too: Winston, Rusty, Capone and Mirah, Polderdyke said. Detroit horses will patrol the draft on Saturday, when the county mounts have another obligation.
Polderdyke said the police use draft horses, some of them Clydesdale, which are much wider in their girth and have legs "like tree trunks," compared with the county's Tennessee Walkers. The Clydesdale are the horses used in the Budweiser beer promotions — in fact, two of the Detroit mounts, Whiskey and Winston, were supposed to be in a Budweiser commercial, but weren't big enough, she said.
The Tennessee Walkers are nicknamed "a walking couch" because they are comfortable and sturdy to ride, Polderdyke said. They are more nimble than draft horses so they can get around tight spaces and trails if the sheriff's department has to do searches in wooded areas. And they love people, she said.
"He loves it," Polderdyke said from atop of Hogan on Thursday as NFL draft crowds approached asking to pet her horse or take a picture. "It keeps him occupied and from getting bored. They excel in this kind of stuff and he likes the attention. Hogan's a ham."
The most experienced horses
Wayne County will also supply two explosive detection dogs — Gunner, a German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix and Gibbs, a black Labrador retriever.
“We could have used more, definitely. But like all agencies we’re super understaffed and so we have to do the best we can to cover that area with what we have," Polderdyke said.
The deputies train the horses regularly every other Tuesday, Polderdyke said, "but for stuff like this, we took them into downtown Northville two weeks ago to get used to traffic and pedestrians, we went to Clinton Township to a farm to take them up to different obstacles. It’s taking them and getting them exposure to different areas. They were at opening day a couple weeks ago so that was a practice run for them."
But if any horses can get through this massive event without any problems, it's Hogan and Ace, she said. Hogan, 18, has worked for the department since 2009. Ace, 26, has worked since 2006.
"They’ve been here the longest and have the most training and experience and exposure to lights, sirens, loud music, fireworks, opening day with low-flying aircraft," Polderdyke said.
Police dogs coming from everywhere
Across from the stables and inside the offices Wednesday afternoon, Migliaccio and three other deputies were planting explosives and cocaine in various locations — well, the scents of those items, anyway. Outside, a few black SUVs marked as county K9 units are parked near the paddocks. An occasional bark emanates from one of them or a long nose pokes out of a half-open black-tinted window.
"Settle down, it's OK," Cpl. Rick Cadez reassured his 17-month-old dog, Gunner, as he walked past the vehicle that held the dog. Gunner was inside, his bark demanding that he wanted out.
Migliaccio heads the sheriff's mounted, motorcycle and K9 units. The scents he planted in the office Wednesday were to give the county's dogs one last practice ahead of the unprecedented crowds and venues they were about to encounter. Migliaccio will work with Gibbs during the draft from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., but all shifts will be covered, even overnight, he said.
"We do mock searches ahead of big events," Migliaccio said. He brings Gibbs, 2, inside the building and gives Gibbs the command to find the explosives. Within 30 seconds, the dog has alerted on the first item with the scent of TNT. Gibbs moves on and finds several more. Migliaccio rewards him with his favorite ball.
Next, Gunner bursts through the door, pulling hard on the leash Cadez has grasped in his hand. The dog is young and eager to work. Cadez gives him the command and Gunner finds all the explosive scents just as fast as the more experienced Gibbs did. Cadez tosses a black rubber toy to Gunner, his favorite reward.
The county has two other dogs: Hobbs, a 5-year-old black Labrador retriever and Thore, a 6-year-old German shepherd. They are trained to find drugs. They won't work the draft, only the explosives dogs will be there.
“I believe the other units are there for explosive detection, too, because there are so many venues and areas we have to keep clear," Migliaccio said. "There’s going to be a mixture of labs, shepherds … they are coming from everywhere, the FBI even. It’s just such a large scale that we’re dealing with.”
'The cavalry is here'
On Thursday afternoon, as Polderdyke and Dennis swung their horses left from Woodward Avenue onto Witherell Street, crowds parted to let Ace and Hogan pass by.
"How's it going?" Dennis called down to a Detroit police officer on the street.
"Good so far especially now that we've got the cavalry here," the cop replied.
The horses trot along after having stopped several times along Woodward to pose for photos or let NFL fans pet them. One man, who declined to provide his name because he said he was supposed to be at work, said he was scared of horses, but he worked up the nerve to pet Hogan and was thrilled he did it.
Peter Cornillie flew to Detroit from New York on Wednesday night, he said. He grew up in Grosse Pointe and described himself as "a big Lions fan." Decked out in a Honolulu blue-and-silver striped overalls atop a Detroit Lions jersey, he stopped to pet Hogan after the horse's glittery hooves caught his eye.
"I live in New York and I hear from everyone there how impressed they are with the Lions, so I had to come here," Cornillie said. "I love the color coordination of their hooves. The whole thing is a great setting."
'You ride it, girl'
As Hogan and Ace headed down Broadway with the iconic Renaissance Center ahead of them, many of the bomb detection dogs were working in the Greektown area, then moved on to clearing venues and behind the stages of any potential threats, various Detoit officers told the Free Press.
After a few hours of riding, Polderdyke and Dennis took their horses back to the trailers for some hay and water, where they rendezvoused with Detroit's horses, also there for a break. As they made their way through the city, this time it wasn't the horses that drew the comments, but rather respect for the officer atop.
"You ride it, girl!" an onlooker yelled to Polderdyke, as Hogan trotted on, reporting for duty.
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan
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