Emil Quast

Emil Quast said."It's a huge undertaking.It's not like, ‘Gee, does anyone have a horse they want to bring to work?' It's not that simple."

Quast is currently the only mounted officer at the MPD and has been heading a pilot program at the department to train horses and determine a possible future for a full-time unit in Madison.His position will be filled by another officer after his anticipated retirement this year, he said, but his hope is that the unit can eventually expand beyond one officer.

Currently, the MPD is looking at two options to increase the mounted unit: having officers own horses independently for police work or purchasing horses to be owned by the police department as a whole.

The MPD's mounted unit, since the early 1990s at least, has been very small and has relied on officers who own horses to use them for work; but this option, while less expensive, also has its drawbacks, Quast said.

"There's a little thing there called liability and public safety," he said."And it's only one out of a thousand horses that can become police horses."

He went on to say that not every officer's personal horse is necessarily capable of becoming a police horse, and if the department was to use an unfit horse for duty, the safety risk could go up.

"If the departments own their own horses, they control all of the training and the liability issues are a lot less," Quast said.
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"I think the likelihood is really good," Quast said."Everybody likes a horse."

And beyond that, their success at Halloween for the past three years cannot go unnoticed, he added.

"In the three years, no one has been stepped on or bitten by a horse," he said."And those conditions are really trying for a horse."
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Hamilton, Fennessy and Quast all mentioned particularly stressful situations their horses had to handle - including an unruly crowd squirting urine-filled Super Soakers and one partygoer putting a cigarette out on a horse's leg - but added those obstacles are bound to come up and make use of the horses' training.
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The amount of training is worth it in the long run for the benefits a police horse brings to a unit, Quast said.

"The biggest [benefit] is visibility," he said."People tend not to do dumb stuff when they know a cop is around.And even if the [mounted] cop is a block away, people can see him."

As for the possibility Madison will see police on horseback patrolling the streets on any given weekend as a full-time unit: According to Quast, he's "hopeful."

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Emil Quast of the Madison Police Department.He said keg licensing would significantly decrease the number of injuries at house parties and the number of students sent to detoxification centers.Although Quast acknowledged potential economic consequences for businesses, he said the destruction caused by intoxicated people on State Street is immense and has just as many ramifications.

"This ordinance is about the partnership between the city and the alcohol industry," Quast said.

ALRC member and Madison Police Department Sergeant Emil Quast said video cameras are valuable evidence in crimes.

"Detectives were able to identify a sexual-assault perpetrator through using video cameras from Club Amazon," Quast said.

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Quast said the police department only uses cameras as evidence in serious crimes and severe safety-related problems.

"We have never used cameras to prosecute an underage drinker," Quast said.

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Sergeant Emil Quast said the location of the potential establishment is already too saturated with bars. He said the police department discouraged the business because more alcohol venues downtown would aggravate the already crowded and dangerous situation.

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ALRC encourages video cameras in bars

Emil Quast of the Madison Police Department said it is business as usual for the police.

"Although it is not our highest priority, we are and always have been very serious about underage drinking," Quast said."There is no crackdown.If we have extra officers, we will assign them to do bar checks."

Officers are also assigned to write at least one ticket to every underage drinker they encounter, Quast said.

When asked whether police target specific establishments for underage-patron searches, he explained that those bars with a history of irresponsibly checking IDs are targeted first.

With a reputation for its well-trained staff, State Street Brats has never had any serious problems with random bar-checks for underage patrons.

Emil Quast, Madison Police Department; Stephanie Bradley Wilson, Madison Police Department Central District; Ed Ruckreigel, Madison Fire Marshall; George Hank, Madison Building Inspection Unit; Enis Ragland, Madison Mayor's Office; and, Susan Schmitz, Downtown Madison Inc.