The alarming image, which has invoked “anger and disgust”, according to one politician, was taken in Galveston, Texas
Police officers on horseback were pictured leading a handcuffed black man through the streets while he was attached to a rope.
The alarming image, which has invoked “anger and disgust”, according to one politician, was taken in Galveston, Texas.
Two officers, wearing riding hats, are seen either side of the arrested man, while one appears to hold a blue rope.
According to the Galveston Police Department, the officers were identified as P.Brosch and A.Smith.
They reportedly arrested Donald Neely, 43, who is accused of criminal trespass.
In a statement, the police force said a “transportation unit was not immediately available at the time of arrest”.
The officers who arrested him were involved in a separate arrest of another man earlier, police said, and a transport vehicle wasn’t available after one took the first man in for booking.
They went on to explain how Neely “was handcuffed and a line was clipped to the handcuffs”.
Despite admitting the method of arrest is used in volatile situations, such as crowd control, the force added: “The practice was not used correctly in this instance”.
Neely’s sister-in-law Christin Neely said in a Facebook post her brother 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,” Christin wrote.
“Imagine searching the streets of a city for days looking for your loved one, to no avail. Have any of you ever went to breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local homeless shelters hoping you’d find your loved one having a meal with hopes to kidnap them and bring them home.
She added: “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 BIL (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.”
Leon Phillips, the president of the Galveston Coalition for Justice, called for the two officers to be fired.
“If it was a white man, he wouldn’t have been treated that way,” Phillips 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.”
Galveston Police Department Chief Vernon L. Hale said: “I believe our officers showed poor judgement in this instance and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest.
“I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment.
“My officers did not have any malicious intent at the time of the arrest.”Chief Hale went on to say how police policy around detaining someone in such a way has been changed.
A Democrat politician running for Congress in 2020 tweeted the image, writing: “We have verified with law enforcement officials in Galveston that the photograph taken in real.
“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.”
