By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing:
• A Metro Nashville Police Department mounted unit officer stayed at stables without power for three days to care for patrol horses after a winter ice storm knocked out electricity in late January.
• Officer Michael Douglas worked alone at the Percy Warner Park stables as downed trees and icy roads prevented other personnel from reaching the site.
• With no power for at least nine days, Douglas fed horses, cleaned stalls by flashlight and broke ice in water buckets to keep them hydrated.
• All horses survived and have since returned to regular mounted patrol duties.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — A Metro Nashville Police Department mounted unit officer remained at the department’s stables without power for three days in late January to ensure the well-being of patrol horses during an ice storm that caused widespread outages.
Officer Michael Douglas tended to the horses at the stables in Percy Warner Park, working alone after dangerous conditions and downed trees kept other personnel from accessing the facility.
The stable lost electricity for at least nine days, and Douglas used a flashlight to clean stalls and manually broke up ice in water buckets so the animals could stay hydrated and maintain body heat.
Police officials said all of the mounted patrol horses, including Douglas’ partner, Tucker, survived the outage and have since resumed regular patrol duties.
The department did not immediately release additional details about staffing or power restoration efforts during the storm.