A police department in Galveston, Texas have issued an apology after photographs emerged showing two white officers on horseback leading a handcuffed black man by a rope, which provoked a public outcry on social media.
The photos show Donald Neely, 43, who was arrested for allegedly trespassing, being escorted on foot by two mounted officers, named only as P. Borsch and A. Smith, with one of the officers holding what appears to be a rope fixed to his handcuffs.[1]
We have verified with law enforcement officials in Galveston, that the photograph taken in Galveston is 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. pic.twitter.com/bEFZnn4qmH
— Adrienne Bell (@AdrBell) August 5, 2019
People on social media were quick to point out the symbolic nature of the photos, saying that they evoked historical memories of the slavery era in the United States and the accompanying racism and violence by whites against blacks during that time period.
Melissa Morris, the Neely family attorney, voiced her disapproval: “This is the behavior in 2019 that we have to deal with. Unfortunately, these police officers lacked the judgment, and the fitness to decide that this imagery that comes from the way that they handled Mr. Neely is painful, and that it just dredges up all of these painful memories of the past”. [2]
Following the widespread criticism and condemnation, Galveston police chief, Vernon Hale, apologised in a statement for the “unnecessary embarrassment” caused to Neely. Whilst he believes that the officers did not have any “malicious intent”, he admits that they “showed poor judgment in this instance” especially as they could have “waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest”. [3]
Hale further stated that: “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”. [4]
However, others expressed that Hale’s response was insufficient and not enough, with some going as far as arguing for the officers to be fired.
Professor Clayborne Carson of Stanford University told Al Jazeera that the incident was not merely “a matter of training” the police officers. He said:
“Anyone who has the slightest awareness of American history would understand the implication of seeing a black man paraded in that manner. It resonates with the worst aspects of racism, going back to slavery”. [5]
Source: www.islam21c.com
Notes:
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/06/texas-police-galveston-white-officers-black-man-horse-rope
[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/07/us/galveston-police-officers-arrest/index.html
[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49253691
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49253691
[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/outrage-photo-shows-police-leading-black-man-rope-190807015812644.html
3 Comments
This is the way Trump and other racists promote their agenda, tarnishing a whole community by giving one or two examples. Populists politician across Europe are gaining power like Hitler did by generalising and slandering a whole society because of a few criminals. Unless you mix with a community you will never understand them nor will you change them for the better
To be honest, in my experience with dealing with black people especially those who have risen to positions of authority, I found them to be the most tyrannical racial group! Most of them have an attitude problem and resort to violence when they can’t get their way. I’m not surprised that the police officers tied down the individual in the above picture. After all they are terrified trying to control a monstrous group of thugs. Thuggery is the black culture, I feel sad and sorry if I offend anyone by my comments. My experience with this group is a lifetime. Most of them remain as thugs and criminals who create havoc and menace in society. I had an encounter recently with a black thug who wanted to bully and intimidate me and he was a grown man. I tell you all something, if they had power, people would be in chains not tied by rope. Salam!!
This is an ignorant comment. You are using an exceedingly small sample size (your anecdotal experience) and making bigoted and racist claims of statistical significance (“most”).
Allah gave you a mind and an ability to calculate beyond past your own shortsightedness, it is offensive to everyone when you don’t use it.