Recorded on cellphone video trampling a nonviolent protester on Friday during a demonstration against excessive police violence, a mounted patrol officer from the Houston Police Department is under investigation after allegedly assaulting the woman for no apparent reason.
Protesting against the officer-involved death of George Floyd who was raised in Houston and later died while a Minnesota police officer kneeled against Floyd’s neck for at least eight minutes, a crowd of demonstrators gathered in downtown Houston on Friday afternoon. According to Alison Amador, who recorded a video of the incident, several demonstrators began walking towards another protester who had been injured during a prior altercation with police officers.
In the video, a woman holding a sign stood off to the side near a police car when a mounted patrol officer suddenly trampled her from behind. One second before knocking the woman to the ground for no justifiable reason, the officer blew his whistle in an impractical attempt to warn her.
A man can be heard in the video shouting, “Don’t trample her!”
“When things got louder, the cops brought in horses,” Amador told Chron.com. “From my point of view, it looked like to me the cop saw her standing there but continued to plow through.”
On Saturday morning, the Houston Police Department tweeted the following statement: “We are aware of a video circulating showing one of our mounted patrol horses and a citizen. We are currently reviewing the circumstances behind the incident.”
In a separate tweet thread discussing the recent video, Houston Police Officers Union Vice President Doug Griffith blamed the protester for getting trampled and wrote, “The whistle is to warms (sic) people. If you don’t pay attention, then that’s on your (sic)!”
On March 25, a bystander recorded a video of Minnesota police officers taking the life of George Floyd while he was handcuffed and bleeding with an officer’s knee pressed against his neck for several minutes as onlookers begged for Floyd’s life. The four officers involved were terminated, and former Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with murder.
COMMENTS