On a hazy Wednesday morning inside the barn at the South Shore Cultural Center, a group of Chicago cops dodge the outside fog and huddle around a dark bay-colored horse named Knight, a saddle at the ready.
The public might recognize Knight on the streets of Downtown Michigan Avenue, at a Cubs game or at an outdoor festival as working with the Chicago Police Department’s Mounted Patrol. But in the barn among the officers, he is recognized for his namesake, Officer John C. Knight, a former Chicago Police cop who was shot and killed in 1999.
Knight was one of the first horses to be named after a Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty. Now, 21 of the 28 Mounted Patrol horses housed in this stable carry on the names and legacies of fallen officers.
Honoring the Deceased
Certainly a nice change from the usual fare the media likes to push.