Man arrested in Tempe [AZ]for slapping horse on rear

[xraodcop]

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/87551

A Tempe man was arrested Sunday after slapping a police horse on the rear while officers were trying to control a crowd.

David Cross, 28, was booked on suspicion of interfering with a working or service animal, a misdemeanor, said Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Mike Horn.

Horn said the arrest came at 2:14 a.m. as officers were in a crowd of about 200 people at 411 S. Mill Ave.(Bar area) Several people were under arrest and others were fighting.

Horn said the arresting officer wrote that Cross slapped the horse “in a manner likely to cause the animal to panic.”

He said Cross admitted to knowing that slapping a horse can cause it to jump but insisted it was “no big deal.”

Horn said Tempe police routinely use horses for patrols in downtown Tempe, where vehicle traffic is often congested.

Mounted units are “such a huge, huge resource for crowd control,” Horn said.

[Mr. CO]

That is funny but very dangerous. He is lucky the horse didn't buck the officer off and get seriously hurt.

[jbauch357]

Funny that they specifically use a horse for crowd control when they are so scared of it's possibility of getting spooked...

[ateamer]

About 20 years ago (before being on the job), I was working security at a large festival in a neighboring county. A large fight (30-40 people brawling) broke out, with several hundred onlookers who were about to get involved. The Sheriff's Office mounted unit quickly dispersed the crowd, but one drunk fighter decided to punch a mounted deputy on the leg. He reared his horse back, striking the assaulter with a hoof under his chin. The drunk fool's eyes rolled back in his head, he fell backward and was down for the count, and the deputy rode away. A few minutes later, the guy came to and his friends carted him off.

[jbauch357]

About 20 years ago (before being on the job), I was working security at a large festival in a neighboring county. A large fight (30-40 people brawling) broke out, with several hundred onlookers who were about to get involved. The Sheriff's Office mounted unit quickly dispersed the crowd, but one drunk fighter decided to punch a mounted deputy on the leg. He reared his horse back, striking the assaulter with a hoof under his chin. The drunk fool's eyes rolled back in his head, he fell backward and was down for the count, and the deputy rode away. A few minutes later, the guy came to and his friends carted him off.

swift and just policing - I like it!

[pvtbuddie]

Funny that they specifically use a horse for crowd control when they are so scared of it's possibility of getting spooked...

Apperently, the horse was very well trained, and the department therefore likely knew it was not easily spooked, or easily ordered into a run by the wrong comand-giver. However, the man in question was attempting to cause a very dangerous problem in an already serious situation. I'd guess that after the slap, the Officer was more concerned with preventing the next possible problem. Would you really rather they had let him get away?

[SDU_Eric]

gotta ask why not use mountain bikes for crowd control? true that you get a lot more hight advantage from a horse than a mountain bike, but a mountain bike will not panic if someone slaps the back tire

[jbauch357]

Apperently, the horse was very well trained, and the department therefore likely knew it was not easily spooked, or easily ordered into a run by the wrong comand-giver. However, the man in question was attempting to cause a very dangerous problem in an already serious situation. I'd guess that after the slap, the Officer was more concerned with preventing the next possible problem. Would you really rather they had let him get away?

Simmer down killer I was just saying it's interesting that they have such a fear of the horse getting spooked when their primary purpose for it is crowd control.

[pvtbuddie]

Simmer down killer I was just saying it's interesting that they have such a fear of the horse getting spooked when their primary purpose for it is crowd control.

Sorry, I thought you were saying they should have gotten rid of the horses instead of arresting the slapper. Knee jerk reaction to the I-don't-understand-the-cops whine people like to serve here, from time to time.

gotta ask why not use mountain bikes for crowd control? true that you get a lot more hight advantage from a horse than a mountain bike, but a mountain bike will not panic if someone slaps the back tire.

Because that same idiot might reach in and try to cut the breakline! (Idiot, because he could have gotten himself kicked. If you want to shoot someone else, make sure the gun is pointed out.)

[bigcop97]

That is funny but very dangerous. He is lucky the horse didn't buck the officer off and get seriously hurt.

I guess I dont find it all that funny... I do have a dry sense of humor when it comes to people endangering police though....

[willowdared]

gotta ask why not use mountain bikes for crowd control? true that you get a lot more hight advantage from a horse than a mountain bike, but a mountain bike will not panic if someone slaps the back tire

There is a huge psychological advantage to using mounted riders for crowd control, and it's not just the intimidation factor. They actually have a calming effect on people, making them easier to "herd."

A well trained horse shouldn't panic in a crowd, but it may kick out, especially if it's slapped in the rump.

[StudChris]

It's kind of funny in this thread how easy it is to tell who has and hasn't ever seen a police horse in action...

[pvtbuddie]

/\ Actually, I haven't seen a mounted Officer since I was a little kid -OK, I didn't see the Officer then, either, I saw his horse- but I've read just enough about horses in combat to know that they can be trained to mind their riders, instead of minding surprises, as is natural to them.

[Camo Cop]

Despite their otherwise less than stellar reputation, one thing the New Orleans PD is good at is crowd control and their mounted unit leads the way.

Think Mardi Gras... Think clearing the streets of 50,000 drunks at midnight on Mardi Gras night when the bars close and the drunks have to be herded toward their homes.

[katzeyze]

It's kind of funny in this thread how easy it is to tell who has and hasn't ever seen a police horse in action...

I couldn't agree more. As an avid horse rider (not for a PD just pleasure) I can tell you horses that have been trained well and have an experienced rider on board aren't going to spook over a bunch of drunken idiots walking (or stumbling) around them. The horse trusts the rider and the rider trusts the horse.

I can however tell you that no matter how experienced the rider or how well trained the horse some scum-sucking drunken waste of protoplasm coming up to the horse and slapping it on the rump may make it spook. There are several different ways that this story could have ended.

a - horse kicks scumbucket (preferably in the head)
b - horse bucks off mounted officer and officer is hurt or killed in the fall
c - horse bucks off mounted officer and takes of in blind panic and tramples bystanders both innocent and not so innocent
d - horse starts bucking crazily and kicks several scumbuckets
e - horse bolts and carries the officer into traffic and horse and/or mounted officer is injured or killed

The thing that really burns me up is that the scumbag was only booked on suspicion of interfering with a working or service animal. Why the heck isn't this considered assault on an officer? Same thing with scumbags who hurt police dogs... they should get a stronger charge than what is currently out there in my not so humble opinion.