‘To us they are officers’
By Lee Higgins,
The State, Columbia, S.C.
Two Columbia police horses killed in a wreck last week that also injured an officer were honored Wednesday during a memorial service at Finlay Park that brought some to tears.
More than 200 community members, law officers, police horses and others gathered around the amphitheater to pay respects to Shiloh and Beorn, members of the Columbia Police Mounted Patrol Unit.
“Today, we pay tribute to Shiloh and Beorn, who gave their lives while serving others,” Police Chief Dean Crisp said. “They may be horses to some, but to us they are officers.”
On Feb. 8, Master Patrol Officer Christopher B. Sox was driving a 1998 Chevrolet truck on Monticello Road, towing a horse trailer, when it went off the right side of the road and struck a tree, authorities said.
Sox was trapped inside the cab, and Shiloh and Beorn were ejected from the trailer. Shiloh, a 1,000-pound quarter horse that had served the department since 1992, died instantly.
Beorn, a 2,600-pound English shire -- a large, powerful draft horse -- that had served the department since 2001, died shortly after.
Sox is recovering at Palmetto Health Richland, and Crisp told the crowd he’s grateful Sox wasn’t injured more severely.
“It is truly a miracle he survived, and we thank God for that,” Crisp said.
Crisp said he used to joke with Sox that next to Beorn, Shiloh looked like a pony.
“He was small in stature, but I assure you very large in heart,” Crisp said.
Mayor Bob Coble recalled how the horses were a favorite among children and were stars of any community event they attended.
“As mayor, I always knew if the horses were there, I was going to be second fiddle,” he said.
Wednesday’s ceremony opened as a procession of 32 horses, mostly in pairs, passed the crowd and seven Columbia police vehicles with blue lights flashing, each carrying at least one officer and police dog. Two officers flanked a photograph of Sox on Shiloh and Master Patrol Officer Michael Grogan on Beorn.
The event drew officers from police departments in Wilmington, Raleigh and Savannah, as well as other agencies.
Grogan’s mother, Mildred Pemberton of Columbia, held a sign thanking the horses for their service. She said it was wonderful that police held the event.
“I think certainly that it’s a good thing to do, so the community can show their love, compassion and sadness for what happened here,” she said.
The S.C. Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.
Jamie Griffon of Great Falls, who has seen the Mounted Patrol once in the Vista, attended the event to show his support. It made him feel proud that the horses were being honored, he said. Griffon owns 18 horses, including a 2-year-old stud, he said.
“When I’m around him, he can put his head on me, and it just makes you feel good.”
OTHER POLICE HORSES
With the deaths of Shiloh and Beorn, the Columbia Police Mounted Patrol Unit is left with three horses that have served the department since 1999.
They are Harvey, a thoroughbred, and Brinx and Trouble, both quarter horses.
All attended the memorial service Wednesday.
The last horse to die in the line of duty was Dirt, who died April 13, 1996, according to a memorial marker in front of police headquarters.
Shiloh and Beorn were buried Feb. 8 on property at the Hopkins veterinary office of Dr. Michael Privett.
Copyright 2007 The State