Texas Police Won't Face Criminal Charges After Leading Black Man by A Rope

The two Texas police officers who led a handcuffed black man down a street by a rope will not face criminal charges, according to the Texas Rangers. On Aug. 3, officers identified by Galveston police as “P. Brosch” and “A. Smith” led a handcuffed 43-year-old man by a rope as many as eight blocks down the street, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said the Texas Rangers completed the investigation and submitted it to the Galveston County District Attorney’s office. “There was nothing that warranted a criminal investigation,” according to the statement, reported by the Houston Chronicle.

An unnamed spokesperson for the city told the Houston Chronicle that the city would be releasing body camera footage of the incident. Melissa Morris, the attorney who is representing the man, said the behavior was still unethical, even if it wasn’t actually illegal. “I can understand them deciding there’s no criminal action with these officers. I still think it’s poor judgment even if it’s within the confines of policy,” Morris told the Chronicle.

The Galveston police chief apologized for the conduct of the two mounted patrol officers on Aug. 5. “Although this is a trained technique and best practice in some scenarios, I believe our officers showed poor judgment in this instance and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of the arrest,” police Chief Vernon Hale said in a statement on Facebook. “My officers did not have any malicious intent at the time of the arrest, but we have immediately changed the policy to prevent the use of this technique and will review all mounted training and procedures for more appropriate methods.”

On top of the fact that “nothing” about these officer’s behavior “warranted a criminal investigation,” there’s another messed up side to this: The Galveston Police Department identified the black man who police led down the street via a rope by his full name while only identifying the police officers who led a fellow human being down the road by a rope by their first initials and last names. The Chronicle has the officers’ full names.