SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV) — Members of the Savannah Police Department gathered to honor the life and service of Sergeant Forrest, a horse on SPD’s mounted patrol. 

“Forrest is me with four legs–short, fat, stubborn, and straight-up boss.”

The Savannah Police Department celebrated the life of one of its beloved officers Saturday,  a horse known as Seargent Forrest. 

A member of SPD’s mounted patrol for 13 years, Sgt. Forrest retired in 2019. When Forrest joined SPD he was called “Gomer,” but officers say his unique work ethic earned him a new name.

“We noticed that that horse and his rider were the last ones to appear on the scene. And we asked what happened and the rider, Chris Henson, was like ‘he can’t run in a straight line.’ And when we were getting ready to leave he was like ‘alright Forrest Gump let’s go’ and that stuck,” Star Cpl. Anne Sosbe said.  

But mainly officers will remember him for his one-of-a-kind personality.

“You come across a police horse and some of the words you hear that get thrown around are so majestic, so noble, so magnificent, and Forrest was a little stinker.”

After Forrest’s retirement, he went on to become a therapy horse for special needs programs and the Wounded Warrior Project, but he is now laid to rest at the SPD stables—the place he called home for most of his life. 

Officers tell News 3 that before Sergeant Forrest passed, he was the carriage horse for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at their wedding near Savannah.