Texas Mounted Officers Apologize For 'Poor Judgment' After Leading Man Behind Horse By Leash

[marble falls]

Texas Mounted Officers Apologize For ‘Poor Judgment’ After Leading Man Behind Horse By Leash

The Galveston Police Department issued an official apology for any “unnecessary embarrassment” caused by the incident.

By Josie Harvey

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-police-apologize-man-behind-horse-rope-handcuff_n_5d48fd97e4b0d291ed05a58f?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVmZnBvc3QuY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAfsZmvyU3zE7yS6M5s39A5LFkXMchtKcPsgK-0G3ITpigudID52G2Fz-xRXRWq4BPs-6dPL0xypXP5MZg8w03M5C4V0mmWoQ088pyjQkr0IuJyQZeva93AeYo54AGKflTjkS_DsDf0JHASW1ZroqJJViVms9VcH2uPzFpfT3t26

<snip>

Adrienne Bell, a Democratic candidate running for Congress in Texas’ 14th District, posted the image to Facebook, saying the scene had invoked “anger, disgust and questions from the community.”

In a press release posted on Facebook Monday, the police department identified the suspect as Donald Neely. He was arrested for trespassing on Saturday, and a transportation unit was not immediately available at the time of the arrest so the officers escorted him to the Mounted Patrol Unit staging area in this manner.

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Not only is this dehumanizing.... but the fact it’s not on every new channel, on every news article... this country wants more of this. Old white racist people literally run this country.
— Jeffrey Lopez🇩🇴 (@fuckimagorilla) August 6, 2019

Dear @GalvestonPD.

What you did here to this man, Donald Neely, is horrible and unacceptable.

I would say “We need answers,” but nothing you can say would ever justify what you did to this man. Nothing at all. pic.twitter.com/OdVeqrFDcv
— Shaun King (@shaunking) August 6, 2019

A picture is worth a thousand words....They wish they could put us back in chains....
— Jacque 🇯🇲🇺🇸 (@Jacque044) August 6, 2019

This is just sickening and uncalled for.

This young black man was put on a leash while handcuffed between two mounted horses in Galveston, Texas.

This invokes painful imagery of slave catchers and runaway enslaved Africans. pic.twitter.com/ZHEmyCYbUE
— zellie (@zellieimani) August 6, 2019

Oh my god. Is that what I think it is? Oh jesus. Please tell me this isnt real. Shameful.
— Mags’ Tweets (@magstweets8) August 6, 2019

<snip>

[RandiFan1290]

1. Texas. nt

[hlthe2b]

3. I'm afraid that was my reaction as well. A "blue" Texas with accompanying change cannnot come

quickly enough.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. The modern concept of a police force has its roots in slave patrols and property protection, so.

FTP.

[MrsCoffee]

4. Fuck that apology. Sue the shit out of them.

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Yep. I gotta say that's pretty poor judgment.

[marble falls]

6. One of those cops could have gotten off his high horse and walked him without ...

the leash. That image is so shocking.

[TreasonousBastard]

9. I can't help thinking the cops were saying "Watch this..." and laughing their...

asses off. Well, fire those asses.

Can't imagine any decent human pulling that outside of a Mel Brooks movie. And even Mel might have second thoughts these days.

[marble falls]

24. Its just hard to believe these two mouth breathers are smart enough to not ...

stab themselves pinning on their badges.

[EarnestPutz]

30. It's the cowboy mentality. Once up on their horses, they pride themselves on not getting off.

[marble falls]

33. Then they need to be off riding the range not the public streets.

[EarnestPutz]

43. Amen to that. Tonights news seems to be saying that they will be fired. But there is the usual....

....tap dancing by the department about "changing departmental procedures."

[walkingman]

7. Welcome to Shitkickerville!

[Greybnk48]

8. I don't believe for one second that they weren't fully aware of the optics

they were creating by this vulgar, callous public display. It looks like one thing and one thing only, so they can stop with the bullshit gaslighting and excuses. They're a couple of racist assholes.

They both should go on back to working at McDonald's or Walmart because giving them badges and uniforms was clearly dangerous and way out of their league mentally!

[Croney]

10. If he were white, they would have waited for transportation.

[dalton99a]

13. +1

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. +100

[RKP5637]

11. Totally done on purpose by racist cops ... and fake apology. Disgusting!!! n/t

[uponit7771]

19. +1, they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt. Beyond unprofessional

[llmart]

12. So, just "poor judgment" huh?

What a pantload. This was deliberate.

Every day, I'm more and more disheartened by this country. There should be NO justification for this. Those cops should be fired without any severance immediately. Their freakin' salaries are paid for by taxpayers.

[dalton99a]

14. The crime: Trespassing. (And no first names for the officers)

[PA Democrat]

36. I wonder if the guy was homeless or was guilty

of being black in an upscale white neighborhood. Pretty disgusting treatment regardless of the circumstances of the arrest, but seriously, for trespassing?

[spanone]

15. Racists apologize for getting caught. 'Poor judgement' my ass.

[Catherine Vincent]

16. Smh...

Typical.

[nolabear]

18. Sue. Them. Not only disgusting but endangerment.

He could easily have been injured. The fact that is hardly noticed underscores what a disgusting, sadistic act it was. But legally it’s a fine addition. They protect you from hitting your head on a cop car. A kick in the head or spooked horse dragging you and you’d own half that city.

Maybe. I don’t count on anything any more.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

20. According to this, it's by the book in Galveston.

I can't believe I'm reading this.

In the Houston Chronicle:

Galveston police apologize after photo surfaces of horse-mounted officers leading handcuffed suspect
Julian Gill and Nick Powell Aug. 5, 2019

Link: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Galveston-police-apologize-for-photo-of-14282778.php#photo-18033055

(snips)

Galveston police are apologizing after a dramatic photo circulated online showing horse-mounted officers leading a handcuffed man of color by what appears to be a rope.

Police issued a press release about the photo on Monday, confirming that horse-mounted officers had "clipped" a "line" to a man's handcuffs after he was arrested Saturday on a criminal trespassing charge.
+++
"First and foremost I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment," he said in the statement. "Although this is a trained technique and best practice in some scenarios, I believe our officers showed poor judgement in this instance and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest."

Leon Phillips, president of the Galveston Coalition for Justice, commended the chief for immediately ending the arrest technique but hoped to see the officers disciplined.
+++
"With the climate in the country today, I would hate to see, six months or three years down the road, what kind of judgment these same officers would make in a worse scenario," Phillips said. Phillips also worried about the lasting impact the photo could have on the city's tourist-heavy economy and questioned why the officers didn't wait on the scene.

"Stay there with him instead of humiliating him," he said. "And now you've humiliated the whole city of Galveston because everybody who sees it is going to have an opinion."

Phillips also said the image reminded him of racist images from the 1920s. He said he didn't know the officers personally, but the optics of the photo was shocking. "All I know is that these are two white police officers on horseback with a black man walking him down the street with a rope tied to the handcuffs, and that's doesn't make sense, period," he said. "And I do understand this — if it was a white man, I guarantee it wouldn't have happened."

To me, this is a form of overt humiliation and persecution prior to this man even being charged and that's not the duty of the police.

KY.........

[marble falls]

25. "A trained technique". Puts the lie to the apology, doesn't it?

[Me.]

21. Two White Men

"This young black man was put on a leash while handcuffed between two mounted horses in Galveston, Texas"

[a kennedy]

22. Ah ya FAWKING think???

This just so wrong.

[Mike_DuBois]

23. What the hell were they thinking?

Swear to God, I think most cops are ignkrant of the power of social media.

All invomved have violates their covenant to orotect and serve

[marble falls]

26. They weren't. Then again they can't and aren't paid to think.

[dalton99a]

27. +1

[tblue37]

42. Or they're too used to getting away with everything & never being held accountable. nt

[Butterflylady]

28. That's heartbreaking

No matter what, that is dehumanizing.

[DVRacer]

29. This is a good example

This is what I was saying about NOT giving these guys more power. Some have advocated that any crime committed while having a gun would be a life sentence. How far do you have to stretch your imagination to think these two wouldn’t have a plant gun? Turning this trespassing into a possible life sentence for this young man.

[DFW]

32. Welllll, now that you mention it......

What these two cops did amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Meting it out is a crime, and they were carrying guns at the time, so, by right wing logic, they deserve a life sentence.

[Delmette2.0]

31. Un-fucking-believable .

The two cops should be fired immediately and barred from any kind of law enforcement position forever.

[Mariana]

34. The Galveston Police Department issued an official apology for any "unnecessary embarrassment"

caused by the incident.

It reads to me like they're mostly concerned about the "unnecessary embarrassment" of the Galveston Police Department.

[Gothmog]

35. Galveston is a very red county

[IcyPeas]

37. If I had seen this with my own eyes...

I would've looked around for the movie or tv cameras - I mean this is a movie shoot right? nope, it's Texas, 2019.

[marble falls]

38. It reminds me of 19th century depictions of "slave catchers".

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/movie-still-of-ossie-davis-being-dragged-behind-a-horse-during-of-picture-id499763501?s=612x612

?w=640

[stillcool]

39. I'm sure police personnel

around the country are giggling like school boys.

[dalton99a]

40. They paraded him for EIGHT blocks

The officers were leading him to 21st and Market about eight blocks away, where the mounted patrol unit was staging. Body cameras were activated at the time, the release said.

[tblue37]

41. Good lord! All that's missing is the chain around his neck! nt

[Skittles]

44. see, I would have to question all their judgements

if they cannot see what could be wrong here