ay "mounted po-
lice" — and most
people picture
strapping, macho
heroes on horse-
back.
Sandy Charnes is a slender,
friendly, blue-eyed blonde.
But she sits tall in the saddle
as a reserve officer in the
Oakland County Sheriff's
Mounted Division.
Riding her horse, Charlie,
Special Deputy Sheriff
Charnes is appropriately
coiffed, uniformed and equip-
ped: Hair pinned back. Eng-
lish riding boots. Blue riding
britches. T-shirt. Jacket.
Badge. Lariat. And a silver-
buckled leather belt, heavy
with handcuffs, holster and
gun.
Like the other members of
the mounted unit, Charnes is
a volunteer. "I do it because
I enjoy it," she says.
The assignments are
varied. "You have park duties
on Saturday and Sunday." We
patrol three Oakland County
parks: Addison Oaks, Grove-
land and Independence. It's
basically public relations
work in the parks. All these
kids want to see and pet your
horse."
Beyond weekends in the
park, the mounted unit rides
in parades, special events and
carries out assignments for
the Michigan State Police.
Members were called to duty
during the Pope's visit. In Oc-
tober, with Charnes part of
the contingent, the unit pa-
trolled the Farmington Hills
"Peace March" for interracial
harmony and they've also
assisted the Southfield Police
with security work at North-
land.
CLOSE UP
life, from the garbage man to
corporate executives."
In June 1988, Davis opened
her own office. Displayed on
some shelves across from her
desk is a picture of Davis with
John DeLorean. She explains
that she did some work for
Howard Weitzman, Delo-
rean's attorney, during the
auto mogul's trial in Detroit.
On the wall opposite the
shelves is another picture,
this one carefully created in
crayon. It was a gift from her
son. It features "Mom," hand-
cuffs and a gun. Davis may be
the only mother — or Hebrew
teacher — who packs a
Walther PPk-S — the same
kind of weapon James Bond
carries.
"I mean, I don't even tell
my mother what I do," she
says. "She doesn't want to
know. She lives in Florida.
When customers come into
her store and say, 'Oh, you've
got a picture of your daughter
on the wall — what does she
do?' My mother says, 'She
teaches Hebrew school.' "
Patti Davis may be the only Hebrew
teacher who packs a Walther
PPk-S.
"I wasn't
successful in
the
conventional
way. I wasn't
interested in
corporate
life."
Sandy Charnes: "My grandmother
said, 'Jewish people don't do this
kind of thing. "
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
25