AN image showing two police officers on horseback leading a handcuffed black man through the streets on a rope has provoked “anger and disgust”.
The picture, taken in the city of Galveston, Texas, shows the offers riding either side of the man, who is reported to be homeless and mentally ill.
The officers, identified as P. Brosch and A. Smith, are reported to have arrested the man, identified as Donald Neely, 43, on suspicion of criminal trespassing.
The picture was taken on Saturday by an onlooker who has chosen to remain anonymous.
It has sparked fury, with many saying it evokes the history of slavery and racism in the United States.
Speaking on Monday, Leon Phillips, president of the Galveston Coalition for Justice, which campaigns for minority rights, called for the two officers to be fired.
“If it was a white man, he wouldn’t have been treated that way,” he said.
“I guarantee there’s nothing in their rules that you can put a leash on a guy while you ride down the street on a horse.”
“Every black person that’s over the age of 30 years old will have a thought of what it used to be like.
“Younger people, they have a tendency to not get emotional about something like this.
“I get emotional because I came from a segregated time, and people said and did whatever they wanted to.”
Adrienne Bell, a Democrat politician running for congress in 2020, wrote on twitter: “It is hard to understand why these officers felt this young man required a leash, as he was handcuffed and walking between two mounted officers.
“It is a scene that has invoked anger, disgust, and questions from the community.”
“Swift action is needed to ensure that no one is demeaned in this manner again, and arrest procedures are fair, just, and humane.”
The Galveston Police Department said the technique had been used because a “transportation unit was not immediately available at the time of arrest”.
It said a vehicle was not available because the officers had earlier been involved in the arrest of another man, who had been taken in for booking.
It added: “We understand the negative perception of this action and believe it is most appropriate to cease the use of this technique.”
In a statement posted to the Department’s Facebook page on Monday, chief Vernon L. Hale III said: “First and foremost, I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment.
“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 arrest.”
The statement also confirmed that the officers’ body cams had been switched on at the time the picture was taken, though did not say whether they would face disciplinary action.
Hale continued: “My officers did not have any malicious intent at the time of the arrest, but we have immediately changed the policy to prevent the use of this technique and will review all mounted training and procedures for more appropriate methods.
Neely’s sister-in-law Christin Neely said in a Facebook post that he is a “homeless and mentally ill” father of eight.
“Imagine that YOU are aware that living on the streets is dangerous, unsanitary, makes you a target for crime/law enforcement and isolates you from your family but YOU CAN’T make that relative understand that despite your many efforts,” she wrote.
“Imagine scrolling Facebook and seeing said loved one being escorted to jail on foot by two officers on horses, hands cuffed behind his back with a rope attached. In 2019????
“He was treated like an animal paraded through the streets by two incompetent a**holes.
“I have read some of the most hateful and insensitive comments in concern to the incident involving my [brother-in-law] Donald Neely’s recent arrest by police.
“People don’t even understand the depth of mental illness and how it affects the person and their family.
“WE HAVE TRIED AND ARE CONTINUOUSLY TRYING TO BRING HIM HOME.
“Please continue to pray for my family.”
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