– Written By @DanielleBTV ( ? Facebook/ Erin Toberman)
Following the release of a viral video, showing two white #Texas police officers on horseback leading a handcuffed black man by a rope, and an apology from the Galveston Police Department, promising to change its procedures, Texas Rangers said an investigation found “nothing that warranted a criminal investigation.”
The two officers – identified as P. Brosch and A. Smith – were seen riding on horsebacks on August 3, while leading 43-year-old Donald Neely down a street handcuffed and bound with rope. Neely had been arrested on a misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge.
Many people were outraged because the video was an unpleasant reminder of the use of patrols to catch enslaved black men and women. It is an image that has invoked disgust, anger, and questions about the integrity of law enforcement.
Neely was later released on bond, and the officers returned back to work a few days after his arrest.
A photo of the arrest sparked outrage and drew an apology from Galveston Police Chief Vernon L. Hale, who said the officers caused Neely “unnecessary embarrassment.”
The Rangers said in a statement that it consulted with the Galveston County District Attorney’s office, “which determined that there was nothing that warranted a criminal investigation.” It also said the officers’ actions “had not violated the law.”
Monday, the Neely family held a press conference demanding that the police release the officers’ body camera videos.
