Texan Police Apologise after White Officers Tied and Led a Black Man by Rope

The Galveston Police Department is apologising for the way officers arrested a man over the weekend, reports CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV.

The Texan department says two officers arrested a 43-year-old man for criminal trespass in downtown Galveston. The man was handcuffed and a rope was clipped to the handcuffs before he was led walking down the street by the two officers on horseback, reminiscent of the slavery era.

Police say he was being taken to a Mounted Patrol Unit staging area.

A photo of the arrest was taken and shared on social media. It shows the man with his hands behind his back, walking between the horses and the officers, with one of the officers holding the blue rope.

“While this technique of using mounted horses to transport a person during an arrest is considered a best practice in certain scenarios, such as during crowd control, the practice was not used correctly in this instance,” the department says.

The officers involved were apparently familiar with the man and had been told that he’d been warned against trespassing at the location several times.

Galveston Police Chief Vernon L. Hale, III said in a statement Monday that, “First and foremost, I must apologize to (the man arrested) for this unnecessary embarrassment. Although this is a trained technique and best practice in some scenarios, I believe our officers showed poor judgment in this instance and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest. 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.

“We understand the negative perception of this action and believe it is most appropriate to cease the use of this technique.”

It is known whether the officers involved will face any disciplinary action.

See the full statement: