Crown was a golden palomino, a part of the Raleigh Police Department's Mounted Patrol since December 1992. Everbody loved Crown -- especially school kids.
"It obviously got to the place where when you were patrolling downtown, kids would stick their heads out the windows and yell, 'Hey, there's Crown! He came to my school. I remember Crown,'" Officer Mark Sellew says.
In October 1999, the 16-year-old horse died of colic.
Though Sellew is developing a close bond with the department's new horse, Shadow, he misses Crown. So do others who work in City Market's restaurants and shops. The grief fueled an effort to immortalize the horse.
"When [Crown] died last October, I just thought it would be a great thing to get a plaque made for him," says City Market employee Kim Siran. Siran collected money from others in City Market, raising $270 to honor the horse in bronze.
Crown's memorial plaque is a permanent part of the wall next to Crown's old stall.
"It kind of goes back to show that the people haven't forgotten the Police Department," Sellew says. "They appreciate what we do and what we're trying to do for them."
Raleigh police began the mounted horse patrols in 1988.
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