Galveston Police Apologize After Photo Surfaces Of Horse-Mounted Officers Leading Handcuffed Man With A Rope
Galveston Police Apologize After Photo Surfaces Of Horse-Mounted Officers Leading Handcuffed Man With A Rope
Source: Twitter

Galveston Police Apologize After Photo Surfaces Of Horse-Mounted Officers Leading Handcuffed Man With A Rope

Source: Twitter

The man had been arrested on a misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge.

A photo showing Galveston police officers on horseback leading a black man in handcuffs with a rope has surfaced on social media resulting in backlash against the officers.

The photo, which shows a black man by the name of Donald Neely in between two horse-mounted police officers as he's being led with a rope, surfaced on social media Monday. According to a press release about the photo, the horse-mounted officers had "clipped" a "line" to Neely's handcuffs after he was arrested Saturday on a criminal trespassing charge.

In the press release, Galveston Police Chief Vernon Hale also issued a statement about the photo and apologized to the 43-year-old Neely.

"First and foremost I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment," Hale said in the statement according to the Houston Chronicle. "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."

The police statement also said that the officers, identified only as P. Brosch and A. Smith, did not have malicious intentions during the arrest. Hale said the department has changed the policy to prevent this technique from being used again.

"[We] will review all mounted training and procedures for more appropriate methods," he said.

The photo received backlash on social media for being reminiscent of racist images from the 1920s.

Neely is free on bond.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Sign Up To Our Newsletter