Police have issued an apology after the emergence of a widely condemned photo showing officers in Texas guiding a black man in handcuffs down the street using what looks to be a rope as they ride horses.
The arrest of Donald Neely took place on Saturday (local time) in Galveston and garnered widespread outrage after an onlooker snapped a photo of the mounted cops escorting the man.
"First and foremost I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment," Galveston police chief Vernon L. Hale III said in a 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."
Police denied that it was a rope tied to Neely's hands during the detainment and instead referred to it as a "line" that was "clipped to his handcuffs."
The officers involved in the arrest were identified by Galveston Police as P. Brosch and A. Smith. Neely, 43, was arrested for criminal trespass.
"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," Hale said.
The photo infuriated many after it surfaced, with some saying the scene resembled racist imagery from America's past. Among them was the president of the NAACP chapter in Houston, who wrote in an email to the Houston Chronicle, "This is 2019 and not 1819.
"I am happy to know that Chief Vernon (Hale) issued an apology and indicated that the act showed poor judgement, but it also shows poor training," James Douglas continued in the email.
"Even though the chief indicated that the technique would be discontinued, he failed to address the lack of respect demonstrate by the officers in the episode."
It was not immediately clear if Brosch and Smith have been disciplined.
