US: Texas police apologize after black man led by rope

WASHINGTON

A Texas police department has apologized and changed its internal policy after a photo of two white mounted police officers leading a handcuffed black suspect by what appears to be a rope prompted online outrage.

The Galveston Police Department apologized over the incident with Police Chief Vernon Hale reportedly saying that while the practice is acceptable in some cases the "officers showed poor judgment in this instance."

Officers had arrested Donald Neely for allegedly committing criminal trespass after warning him not to trespass on that specific location. The officers were photographed transporting Neely to a staging area.

The photograph struck many as being reminiscent of the era of slavery where black slaves were led by white owners on horseback.

"Police officers arrested Donald Neely, who is Black, for trespassing, handcuffed him, attached a rope to the handcuffs and led him through the streets of Galverston on mounted horses," New York City Public Defender Rebecca Kavanagh wrote on Twitter. "All as though they were slave masters, and he were their slave."

Adrienne Bell, a Democratic candidate for Congress who is black, also objected to the detention practices seen in the photograph.

"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," she wrote on Twitter before issuing a statement lauding the police chief's "quick response."

Hale further apologized to Neely for "unnecessary embarrassment" caused by the transportation methods the officers employed.

Neely has been freed on bond, but could not be immediately reached for comment, the Houston Chronicle reported.