No matter what society we find ourselves in, the idea of tradition will still hold a lot of value for some people. Perhaps in a world of constant change, the idea of maintaining some constancy and taking inspiration from the past can provide some comfort.
At the same time, however, the problem with that comfort is that it’s easy to take for granted. It’s easy to get so used to engaging in a traditional practice that you don’t necessarily notice any of the darkest aspects of some traditions until somebody points them out.
That seems to be the case for one Texas police department after some worrying photos went viral.
Yesterday, Democratic candidate Adrienne Bell for Texas 14th district tweeted out some photos originating from Galveston, Texas.
As The Guardian reported , the photos feature two mounted police officers leading a man through the streets with a rope.
This scene drew disgusted and angered reactions from Twitter users, as both they and Bell suspected that police were effectively putting a black man on a leash.
That impression was also not lost on the man’s family, who also disapproved of how Galveston police executed their arrest of the man for criminal trespassing.
The man’s sister-in-law, Christin Neely, said the man was homeless and dealing with mental health issues, which often made it difficult for the family to locate him.
“Have any of you ever went to breakfast, lunch and dinner at the local homeless shelters hoping you’d find your loved one having a meal with hopes to kidnap them and bring them home?”
As she wrote on Facebook, “Now imagine scrolling FB and seeing said loved one being escorted to jail on foot by two officers on horses, hands cuffed behind his back with a rope attached. In 2019?”
For many, the images brought to mind the dehumanizing ways that black citizens were treated under the Jim Crow Laws of the early-to-mid 20th century.
As one user put it , “Amazing. I am now resigned for the first time in my life to believe that it is possible for this country to go back 50 years to Jim Crow-like laws in the next 50 years.”
To confirm that the photos were genuinely what they appeared to be, Bell reached out to the Galveston police department.
Her contact verified that they were real and Bell told her followers that she would remain vigilant for any statements from the police department.
About five hours later, the police department issued a press release.
In this statement , police explained that the rope was not a leash, but rather a line that was clipped to the man’s handcuffs.
They also said that they had warned the man against trespassing at the location he arrested him at before and that this rope technique was a trained technique that they considered best practice in some scenarios.
That said, Galveston police chief Vernon Hale said that the scene captured was not one of those scenarios.
He went on to say that the officers involved exercised poor judgement and should have waited for a transport unit where they arrested him rather than leading him through the streets like this.
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“First and foremost I must apologize to Mister Neely for this unnecessary embarrassment,” Chief Hale said.
“My officers did not have any malicious intent at the time of 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.”
Congresswoman Bell responded to Chief Hale’s statement with one of her own.
“The quick response from Chief Hale, of the Galveston Police Department is truly appreciated,” she wrote . “I applaud the Chief’s swift action in the discontinuance of the transport technique used in the arrest of Mr. Neely.”
She added that many of her constituents still question many community policing procedures, especially for people known to have mental illness.
h/t: The Guardian , Twitter | @AdrBell
