From The Star Tribune, Sunday May 11, 2008

Posse still sheriff's sidekick

Jennifer Simonson, Star Tribune

Carver County Sheriff's Mounted Posse member Fay Buckentin and her horse JD negotiated an obstacle course of burning hale bales during a sensory training session. Each spring the volunteer posse members and their horses must pass the training, which includes an obstacle course and an equitation test. They encounter police cars with flashing lights and sirens, a crowd of protestors and smoke and fire.

The Wild West is history, but authorities across Minnesota still round up riders when they need a hand.

By HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA, Star Tribune

At 65, June Hilgers is a grandmother of nine and has been a hair stylist for more than 40 years. She also heads up her local posse. Hilgers, who runs her own six-chair salon in Waconia, moonlights as a member of the Carver County Sheriff's Posse, which she will lead this year as captain.

Hilgers joined the posse in 2002, and her ascension through the ranks reflects just how much posses have morphed in recent years from their Wild West roots into a growing 21st century volunteer force.

In dozens of Minnesota locales, they help with everything from park patrols to fugitive hunts and search-and-rescue operations.

With the Republican National Convention scheduled for St. Paul in September, there's a chance that posses will play a role in crowd control. Posse riders proved their worth when President Bush visited Carver County in 2004 and Hilgers' posse helped contain a crowd of thousands.

Posses also have proved valuable in search-and-rescue operations. In the days after the disappearance of 5-year-old Corrine Erstad in 1992, among the dozens of law enforcement personnel who scoured fields and woods looking for the child was Jim Mirick of the Carver County Sheriff's Office.

While most of the searchers were on foot, Mirick sat atop a horse as a volunteer member of the Carver County Sheriff's Posse, one of the oldest in the state. "We can go places a lot of other people can't," Mirick said.

And when it comes to crowd control, "There aren't too many people who are going to challenge a 1,500-pound animal," said Mirick, who has been with the Carver County posse for almost 25 years.

Since the early 1990s, the number of posses in Minnesota has been growing as more and more law enforcement officials came to realize the practical and intangible benefits of riders on horseback. "Sheriffs are getting more open to people like us," said Hilgers, whose posse just finished getting the horses ready for the spring and summer.

Kevin Stokes, a posse volunteer with the Washington County Sheriff's Office, said there are now nearly three dozen posses and mounted patrols in the state, and the number is growing.

'Doing something we love'

"This allows us to give back to our community doing something we love -- riding our horses," Stokes said.

Most people, and especially kids, love the horses when they show up at events. "It's great PR for the department," Mirick said. Posses have been around since the Wild West days, when U.S. marshals and county sheriffs would call together a group of men and temporarily deputize them to chase criminals.

Modern posses are not deputized and don't carry firearms -- but they are considered members of their respective sheriffs' offices. "Posses have been around a long time," said Carver County Sheriff Bud Olson, whose modern posse was started in the 1960s. "They do a lot of work."

Thirty volunteers make up the posse in Carver County, and, just as in days of old, they are called out by the sheriff when he needs extra help. Last week, Olson's posse members finished the sensory training, necessary so the animals learn to handle crowd noises, flares, smoke, sirens and other distractions before going on duty. "We have an aggressive training schedule," Mirick said.

A changing mission

Olson said the posse's mission has evolved from chasing outlaws to patrolling and keeping the peace. Along with search-and-rescue work, posses can patrol parks and gather evidence when needed.

"They have a more professional mission now," he said. "I have a very active posse, one of the most active in the state. They've been called out for missing children, missing adults."

Olson said posse members are given extensive training on crowd control, crime scenes, evidence gathering, use of force and other common police duties they might perform.

Not in harm's way

"The sheriff wouldn't put us in harm's way," Hilgers said. "If we come across something, we call a deputy."

Bob Owen, whose wife, Emily, is a member of the Carver County posse, said that whatever concerns he has about her safety are alleviated by the training she receives. "It's a concern, but a minor one," Owen said as he helped the posse with sensory training for their horses last week. "They are getting professional training with professionals."

'People love us'

Some of the most critical work a posse can do involves search and rescue, because horses can go where motorized vehicles cannot. "We all train for search and rescue," Stokes said of the Washington County Sheriff's posse. "Being on horseback gives us a unique point of view, and we cover ground faster than on foot." Stokes said some posse volunteers have trained their horses to search for missing people much like a dog does at an accident or crime scene. "Being trained to search comes in handy," he said. "We are additional eyes and ears for the sheriff. ... They can get more done with less legwork."

A more everyday benefit that sheriffs' offices realize from their posses is the goodwill they generate, Stokes and others said. "The people love us," Stokes said. "We do parades, safety fairs, National Night Out, and other events. People love to come up to us, pet the horses and ask questions. We are an additional good face for the sheriff's office."

Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280

CARVER ISN'T ALONE

Nearly three dozen Minnesota localities have posses or mounted patrols, including Dakota, Washington, Wright, Sherburne, Carver and Scott counties.