Texas police condemned after officers on horseback lead black suspect by rope

Police in Texas have apologised after photographs emerged of two white officers on horseback leading a black man down the street by a rope.

Donald Neely, 43, had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in an office building in downtown Galveston, a coastal city of 50,000 people just outside Houston.

The officers attached a rope to the handcuffs behind his back, before leading him to a police staging area eight street blocks away.

A passerby took photographs which circulated on social media, leading to a widespread backlash against the police department. "This is 2019 and not 1819," said James Douglas, president of the Houston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

It was the latest incident to raise tensions over police treatment of black suspects. Prominent alleged abuse and deaths in custody have sparked riots in recent years up and down the US.

Melissa Morris, a lawyer for Mr Neely's family, said he was homeless, mentally ill, and suffered from bipolar disorder.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/06/texas-police-horseback-lead-black-suspect-rope/

phildidge wrote:Police in Texas have apologised after photographs emerged of two white officers on horseback leading a black man down the street by a rope.

Donald Neely, 43, had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in an office building in downtown Galveston, a coastal city of 50,000 people just outside Houston.

The officers attached a rope to the handcuffs behind his back, before leading him to a police staging area eight street blocks away.

A passerby took photographs which circulated on social media, leading to a widespread backlash against the police department. "This is 2019 and not 1819," said James Douglas, president of the Houston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

It was the latest incident to raise tensions over police treatment of black suspects. Prominent alleged abuse and deaths in custody have sparked riots in recent years up and down the US.

Melissa Morris, a lawyer for Mr Neely's family, said he was homeless, mentally ill, and suffered from bipolar disorder.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/06/texas-police-horseback-lead-black-suspect-rope/

Bad optics, but no one would have given a shit if they had done it me.

How else were they to make sure he didn’t run away? They were on horseback?

Yeah, people didn't like the way it looked -- a bit like he was a slave, I guess -- but there's no other practical way to bring in a suspect when you're on a horse. They're sure as hell not putting him on the back of the horse.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't just call for a vehicle, though, would have sped the whole process up.

And if he was a white guy.....no story.

Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do.

It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations

Nothing to see here then.

Maddog wrote:

phildidge wrote:Police in Texas have apologised after photographs emerged of two white officers on horseback leading a black man down the street by a rope.

Donald Neely, 43, had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing in an office building in downtown Galveston, a coastal city of 50,000 people just outside Houston.

The officers attached a rope to the handcuffs behind his back, before leading him to a police staging area eight street blocks away.

A passerby took photographs which circulated on social media, leading to a widespread backlash against the police department. "This is 2019 and not 1819," said James Douglas, president of the Houston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

It was the latest incident to raise tensions over police treatment of black suspects. Prominent alleged abuse and deaths in custody have sparked riots in recent years up and down the US.

Melissa Morris, a lawyer for Mr Neely's family, said he was homeless, mentally ill, and suffered from bipolar disorder.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/06/texas-police-horseback-lead-black-suspect-rope/

Bad optics, but no one would have given a shit if they had done it me.

But they didn't. And wouldn't. You're white.

It's more than optics; its indicative of people of the south.

eddie wrote:

Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do.

It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations

Nothing to see here then.

For quill. Because it’s not always about colour.

eddie wrote:

Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do.

It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations

Nothing to see here then.

Oh please, ed.  If the Galveston police said they give white children baths in acid, would you say "nothing to see here"?

I can make my own moral judgments.  It's evil.  Happens every day in the south.

It reminds me of the murder of James Byrd, Jr., by good ol' boys in Jasper TX:

Wiki wrote:James Byrd Jr. was an African American who was murdered by three white supremacists in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged Byrd for three miles behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road. Byrd, who remained conscious throughout most of his ordeal, was killed about halfway through the dragging when his body hit the edge of a culvert, severing his right arm and head.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Byrd_Jr.

I'm just sayin', happens every day in the south.

Quill, how else would they stop a man in handcuffs run away? I know how it looks but what of the intention behind it? Surely that’s what is important.

eddie wrote:Quill, how else would they stop a man in handcuffs run away? I know how it looks but what of the intention behind it? Surely that’s what is important.

By calling a squad car to transport him.  I'm sure that's what they do with whites.

Cops on horses are just like cops on bicycles.  It's meant for mobility.  You don't transport prisoners by horse or bicycle, dragging them with a rope.

This is just a hold over from the old cotton-fields day.  Like: 'Rope up them niggahs and take 'em to the north 40."

Original Quill wrote:

eddie wrote:Quill, how else would they stop a man in handcuffs run away? I know how it looks but what of the intention behind it? Surely that’s what is important.

By calling a squad car to transport him.  I'm sure that's what they do with whites.

Cops on horses are just like cops on bicycles.  It's meant for mobility.  You don't transport prisoners by horse or bicycle, dragging them with a rope.

This is just a hold over from the old cotton-fields day.  Like: 'Rope up them niggahs and take 'em to the north 40."

“Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do.

It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations.”

eddie wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

By calling a squad car to transport him.  I'm sure that's what they do with whites.

Cops on horses are just like cops on bicycles.  It's meant for mobility.  You don't transport prisoners by horse or bicycle, dragging them with a rope.

This is just a hold over from the old cotton-fields day.  Like: 'Rope up them niggahs and take 'em to the north 40."

“Galveston's police department said leading a suspect by a rope on horseback was something officers were trained to do.

It was an accepted law enforcement technique, and even "best practice" in some situations.”

Of course...it's fookin' Texas, eds. They also had Jim Crow laws, separate-but-equal, and segregated schools, fountains and bathrooms. Now they have voter suppression.

Any way to show blacks they are in another class. Remember James Byrd, Jr.

Quill, I don’t think this story would’ve made the news if the guy had been white. And I don’t think those policemen had any nasty intention when they decided to keep him from running away. I’m not saying there is no racism apparent in Texas or the world - but in this case I think it was an hysterical overreaction.

eddie wrote:Quill, I don’t think this story would’ve made the news if the guy had been white. And I don’t think those policemen had any nasty intention when they decided to keep him from running away. I’m not saying there is no racism apparent in Texas or the world - but in this case I think it was an hysterical overreaction.

When would they ever do anything like this to a white. When they are waiting for a squad car, make 'em sit handcuffed on the corner. You don't have to treat blacks like cattle.

But, you know, they can do whatever they want in Texas. I just don't want anything to do with it, or Texas. Every time I see a story like this, I think how lucky I am to live in California. There is a reckoning coming.

God bless the Pacific States of America. And god bless Donald Trump for giving our wheel an extra spin.

So you think these two police officers decided to do that because he was black?
Perhaps you’re right - I don’t know them, but neither do you.

eddie wrote:So you think these two police officers decided to do that because he was black?
Perhaps you’re right - I don’t know them, but neither do you.

I think it's a policy specifically designed for blacks. He's not white.

I'm saying, just because they cover their ass with a 'policy' argument, informally they would never treat a white that way. This is the south. I'm sure there are lots of "policies" that are part of the departmental regulations, that they would never apply to whites. The south is adept at inventing Jim Crow laws, ostensibly neutral, but invented to be applied only to blacks. That's what Jim Crow means.

You recently said you are against spectacle executions. Think of what is offensive about that. This isn't an execution, but it sure is intended as a spectacle. It's showing a second-class citizen what you think of him.

Perhaps. I think we can both speculate but we don’t really know.

eddie wrote:Perhaps. I think we can both speculate but we don’t really know.

You sure as sheit haven't lived in the USA!!  Trust me...I know what goes on south of the Mason-Dixon line...read about it...experienced it...taught it at universities.

Think it wasn't a southerner from Allen, Texas, who just killed 22-people in El Paso?  Same MO, but little lighter skin.

Original Quill wrote:

eddie wrote:Perhaps. I think we can both speculate but we don’t really know.

You sure as sheit haven't lived in the USA!!  Trust me...I know what goes on south of the Mason-Dixon line...read about it...experienced it...taught it at universities.

Think it wasn't a southerner from Allen, Texas, who just killed 22-people?  Same MO, but little lighter skin.

Remember that when you argue against the British on here who live in Britain.
Fairs fair. Right?

Original Quill wrote:

eddie wrote:So you think these two police officers decided to do that because he was black?
Perhaps you’re right - I don’t know them, but neither do you.

I think it's a policy specifically designed for blacks.  He's not white.

I'm saying, just because they cover their ass with a 'policy' argument, informally they would never treat a white that way.  This is the south.  I'm sure there are lots of "policies" that are part of the departmental regulations, that they would never apply to whites.  The south is adept at inventing Jim Crow laws, ostensibly neutral, but invented to be applied only to blacks.  That's what Jim Crow means.

You recently said you are against spectacle executions.  Think of what is offensive about that.  This isn't an execution, but it sure is intended as a spectacle.  It's showing a second-class citizen what you think of him.

I've been to Galveston, and trust me, it's not KKK territory. You're being really ridiculous.

eddie wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

You sure as sheit haven't lived in the USA!!  Trust me...I know what goes on south of the Mason-Dixon line...read about it...experienced it...taught it at universities.

Think it wasn't a southerner from Allen, Texas, who just killed 22-people?  Same MO, but little lighter skin.

Remember that when you argue against the British on here who live in Britain.
Fairs fair. Right?

I love the Brits. I have a doctorate in British political theory. Of course, fair is fair...I have great respect for the Brits.

I don't have great respect for southerners with their Jim Crow laws, killing of blacks, and pervasive racism.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

I think it's a policy specifically designed for blacks.  He's not white.

I'm saying, just because they cover their ass with a 'policy' argument, informally they would never treat a white that way.  This is the south.  I'm sure there are lots of "policies" that are part of the departmental regulations, that they would never apply to whites.  The south is adept at inventing Jim Crow laws, ostensibly neutral, but invented to be applied only to blacks.  That's what Jim Crow means.

You recently said you are against spectacle executions.  Think of what is offensive about that.  This isn't an execution, but it sure is intended as a spectacle.  It's showing a second-class citizen what you think of him.

I've been to Galveston, and trust me, it's not KKK territory. You're being really ridiculous.

I've been to Galveston, too. Trust me...you're putting your head in the sand.

Ben Reilly wrote:Yeah, people didn't like the way it looked -- a bit like he was a slave, I guess -- but there's no other practical way to bring in a suspect when you're on a horse. They're sure as hell not putting him on the back of the horse.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't just call for a vehicle, though, would have sped the whole process up.

They did. There wasn't one available, so they walked him a few blocks to the jail.


As you can imagine, Shuan King had a field day with this today.

Original Quill wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Bad optics, but no one would have given a shit if they had done it me.

But they didn't.  And wouldn't.  You're white.

It's more than optics; its indicative of people of the south.

I've been marched into a restaurant with a 12 gauge pointed at me, with my hands in the air. It was done to humiliate a young man who did something dumb.

You don't know me too well.

Original Quill wrote:

eddie wrote:

Remember that when you argue against the British on here who live in Britain.
Fairs fair. Right?

I love the Brits.  I have a doctorate in British political theory.  Of course, fair is fair...I have great respect for the Brits.

I don't have great respect for southerners with their Jim Crow laws, killing of blacks, and pervasive racism.

What in the fuck don't you have a doctorate in?

Would those brainless shitkicker cops have handcuffed a white (or Asian..) person merely on the suspicion that he may have been "trespassing" somewhere  ???

He hadn't assaulted someone, stolen something, or been caught in the process of dealing drugs or burning a building..

Nope, those useless pathetic redneck cops handcuffed and roped a 'black man' because they naturally suspect him of being a criminal until proven otherwise.

Down here, mounted police would more likely have held him there and called a paddywagon in..

But not in good ol' Texas, where their police departments think it's still 1950...

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Would those brainless shitkicker cops have handcuffed a white (or Asian..) person merely on the suspicion that he may have been "trespassing" somewhere  ???

He hadn't assaulted someone, stolen something, or been caught in the process of dealing drugs or burning a building..

Nope, those useless pathetic redneck cops handcuffed and roped a 'black man' because they naturally suspect him of being a criminal until proven otherwise.

Down here, mounted police would mlre likely have held him there amd called a paddywagon in..

But not in good ol' Texas, where their police departments think it's still 1950...

I was arrested for violating a park curfew. Handcuffs and all.

We arrest people of every color for silly stuff.

Any more questions?

And everyone who is arrested is handcuffed.

Maddog wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Yeah, people didn't like the way it looked -- a bit like he was a slave, I guess -- but there's no other practical way to bring in a suspect when you're on a horse. They're sure as hell not putting him on the back of the horse.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't just call for a vehicle, though, would have sped the whole process up.

They did. There wasn't one available, so they walked him a few blocks to the jail.


As you can imagine, Shuan King had a field day with this today.  

Shaun King is an opportunistic and fraudulent dick...

Original Quill wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:

I've been to Galveston, and trust me, it's not KKK territory. You're being really ridiculous.

I've been to Galveston, too.  Trust me...you're putting your head in the sand.

You've been everywhere.

I think you have a doctorate in "been everywhere".

The man is mentally ill, so no matter what colour he is I think it's wrong to transport him in this way.
I'm sure in a modern city a car could have been dispatched so he could have been driven to jail.
If this is normal practice as they say, it's pretty backward imo.

I didn't like to see this man on a leash, it reminded me of slave days.  Why didn't one of the cops get off his horse and walk with him, easy.  

Also in some prisons in America, when walking with cons, they use these leashes to stop them running.  This is done to all races, not just black. I don't like it I feel its demeaning.

Syl wrote:The man is mentally ill, so no matter what colour he is I think it's wrong to transport him in this way.
I'm sure in a modern city a car could have been dispatched so he could have been driven to jail.
If this is normal practice as they say, it's pretty backward imo.

They called for one, and they were all busy. These cops had a guy to arrest and a jail sitting a few blocks away, so they made him walk.

Maddog wrote:

Syl wrote:The man is mentally ill, so no matter what colour he is I think it's wrong to transport him in this way.
I'm sure in a modern city a car could have been dispatched so he could have been driven to jail.
If this is normal practice as they say, it's pretty backward imo.

They called for one, and they were all busy. These cops had a guy to arrest and a jail sitting a few blocks away, so they made him walk.

Yeah I know, but unless cop cars are as rare as hens teeth in Texas I'm sure one could have been made available soon.
If you treat people like animals they tend to respond in the same way...irregardless of colour.

Maddog wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Yeah, people didn't like the way it looked -- a bit like he was a slave, I guess -- but there's no other practical way to bring in a suspect when you're on a horse. They're sure as hell not putting him on the back of the horse.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't just call for a vehicle, though, would have sped the whole process up.

They did. There wasn't one available... 

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you...in Brooklyn.

Maddog wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

I love the Brits.  I have a doctorate in British political theory.  Of course, fair is fair...I have great respect for the Brits.

I don't have great respect for southerners with their Jim Crow laws, killing of blacks, and pervasive racism.

What in the fuck don't you have a doctorate in?

Medicine. I have only two doctorates: political theory and law. But, oddly, I never pursued medicine.

However, my father and my youngest daughter are both physicians.

Maddog wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

I've been to Galveston, too.  Trust me...you're putting your head in the sand.

You've been everywhere.

I think you have a doctorate in "been everywhere".

Nothing like that. But I do travel a lot, and lived in many different places.

I believe your trip to Colorado was the first time out of Texas, innit? You are certainly southern parochial.

Maddog wrote:And everyone who is arrested is handcuffed.

Of course. And I've got no problem with that. But I draw the line at roping and hog-tying blacks.

The smallest town in the states has ample squad cars, SUV's, motorcycles, horses, drones, command post vehicles and armored vehicles. Why? The Federal Government pays for it, and sees to it that cops have vehicles under the LEAA.

To say there was no vehicle available is utter BULLSHIT. Typical southern excuse, when a southern cop says: Y'all, we'd rather drag this niggah to jail! Southerners are good at concocting excuses for their racism. That’s what Jim Crow is all about.

Original Quill wrote:

Maddog wrote:And everyone who is arrested is handcuffed.

Of course.  And I've got no problem with that.  But I draw the line at roping and hog-tying blacks.

The smallest town in the states has ample squad cars, SUV's, motorcycles, horses, drones, command post vehicles and armored vehicles.  Why?  The Federal Government pays for it, and sees to it that cops have vehicles under the LEAA.

To say there was no vehicle available is utter BULLSHIT.  Typical southern excuse, when a southern cop says: Y'all, we'd rather drag this niggah to jail!  Southerners are good at concocting excuses for their racism.  That’s what Jim Crow is all about.

Maybe it was a lie. Could be these cops were just looking for attention.

Original Quill wrote:

Maddog wrote:

You've been everywhere.

I think you have a doctorate in "been everywhere".

Nothing like that.  But I do travel a lot, and lived in many different places.

I believe your trip to Colorado was the first time out of Texas, innit?  You are certainly southern parochial.

Sure Doc.

A lot of assumptions on this thread.

The police said there wasn’t a car available yet no one believes them. They’d rather assume the police lied.

The man was walked using a rope tied to his handcuffs yet if he wasn’t black nobody would care yet because he was black they’d rather assume the cops did it on purpose.

So assumptions made about police and disbelief of the police statements yet a belief in police statements when it suits the story you want to believe.

Odd.

eddie wrote:A lot of assumptions on this thread.

The police said there wasn’t a car available yet no one believes them. They’d rather assume the police lied.

The man was walked using a rope tied to his handcuffs yet if he wasn’t black nobody would care yet because he was black they’d rather assume the cops did it on purpose.

So assumptions made about police and disbelief of the police statements yet a belief in police statements when it suits the story you want to believe.

Odd.

That's how racism, stereotypes and prejudice works.

Maddog wrote:

eddie wrote:A lot of assumptions on this thread.

The police said there wasn’t a car available yet no one believes them. They’d rather assume the police lied.

The man was walked using a rope tied to his handcuffs yet if he wasn’t black nobody would care yet because he was black they’d rather assume the cops did it on purpose.

So assumptions made about police and disbelief of the police statements yet a belief in police statements when it suits the story you want to believe.

Odd.

That's how racism, stereotypes and prejudice works.  

Yes, and hypocrisy.

eddie wrote:A lot of assumptions on this thread.

The police said there wasn’t a car available yet no one believes them. They’d rather assume the police lied.

The man was walked using a rope tied to his handcuffs yet if he wasn’t black nobody would care yet because he was black they’d rather assume the cops did it on purpose.

So assumptions made about police and disbelief of the police statements yet a belief in police statements when it suits the story you want to believe.

Odd.

A lot of excuses to reconstruct the obvious.

Any authority in a southern state lies to cover up their own bigotry.  "Jim Crow laws revived principles of the 1865 and 1866 Black Codes, which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws  The codes that were once overt, had to go underground.  By 1870 it was necessary to have a cover purpose to accomplish the same exclusion and discrimination that existed during slavery.

So, of course a southern police department is going to lie. They expect it.  They say, It's our practice to rope and hogtie citizens.  And of course, when asked why every other department in the country (except the south) transports perps in a vehicle, their cover is: Oh, um...well, we were out of cars.

I don't know what is the greater insult.  They fact that they still practice slavery; or the fact that they think we would fall for that duplicitous crap.

No human being should ever be treated like this. They should have been capable of watching him while waiting for a car to arrive.

eddie wrote:A lot of assumptions on this thread.

The police said there wasn’t a car available yet no one believes them. They’d rather assume the police lied.

The man was walked using a rope tied to his handcuffs yet if he wasn’t black nobody would care yet because he was black they’d rather assume the cops did it on purpose.

So assumptions made about police and disbelief of the police statements yet a belief in police statements when it suits the story you want to believe.

Odd.

Witness enough police, bureucratic and governmental duplicity over the years...

And you too will disbelieve their ongoing lies and coverups, excuses and arrogance, rightfully considering them guilty until proven otherwise..

Cass wrote:No human being should ever be treated like this. They should have been capable of watching him while waiting for a car to arrive.

Having been stuffed into the back of few police cars, I would just as soon be marched to the cross bar hotel and get it over with. Fuck me those back seats are small.

Galveston is an island with a limited number of cops. I guess they could have all sat there for the next hour shooting the shit waiting for a car?

Cass wrote:No human being should ever be treated like this. They should have been capable of watching him while waiting for a car to arrive.

Spot on. People have turned this into a race thing, it's not, it's just inhumane for anyone to be walked through the streets like this in 2019.

Maddog wrote:

Cass wrote:No human being should ever be treated like this. They should have been capable of watching him while waiting for a car to arrive.

Having been stuffed into the back of few police cars, I would just as soon be marched to the cross bar hotel and get it over with. Fuck me those back seats are small.

Galveston is an island with a limited number of cops. I guess they could have all sat there for the next hour shooting the shit waiting for a car?    

That's what they do in the rest of the USA. Beats treating people like livestock.