JACKSON, Wyo. — The only program of its kind, Jackson Hole Police Department’s Citizen Mounted Unit hosts an information session tonight for their upcoming May training.
According to Lieutenant Russ Ruschill, Jackson may have the only program of its kind in the country, the Citizens Mounted Unit (CMU). Founded in 1996 by the late Jackson Police Chief Dave Cameron, the CMU’s all-volunteer group of men and women have been assisting local law enforcement with crowd and traffic control at events like Old West Days, the Independence Day parade, the Teton County Fair, the Farmer’s Market and other special events.
The CMU has saved the town and county many hours of overtime equaling thousands of dollars and freed up officers for other duties while instilling positive interactions between tourists and the horseback volunteers.
Lieutenant Russ Ruschill started volunteering with Citizens Mounted Unit Volunteer in 2000. He was a volunteer with the unit from 2000-2002. In 2003, Lieutenant Ruschill became a police officer with the Jackson PD and has been employed since. He joined the mounted unit in 2004 and became an instructor in 2005. Ruschill says the program embodies the spirit of citizenry.
“It truly embodies the spirit of “Community Policing,” he said. “For starters, the volunteer members of the unit become our partners in many different ways, even outside of the mounted unit. The greatest asset is our partnership and their volunteer spirit.”
“For me as a police officer, the horses are an incredible ice breaker with residents and visitors. I have been a police officer for 21 years and not one person has ever asked me if they could pet my police car but thousands of people have asked if they could pet my police horse,” he told Buckail.
Ruschill said the horses have opened previously closed doors to people who may not otherwise wish to converse with members of law enforcement.
Volunteers get to enjoy an intensive in horsemanship according to Ruschill and horses get public exposure.
“Building a partnership with your horse is the most important thing one should take away from the training. If your horse trusts that you won’t get it hurt, they will do most everything for you. We train in a manner which gives people the tools to deal with a lot of the known and unknown of the town square in summer,” he said.
