Albuquerque Man Arrested for Back-handing Police Horse

A probably drunk Albuquerque man was arrested after he swatted the flank of a police horse.

In a video from the mounted officer vest-cam, you can see the man, who looks fairly old, approach and ask if he can pet the horse.  The officer told him, “no”. Now, the next part you can’t see but you can hear the human officer’s response loud and clear: “Do NOT hit my horse!” the officer shouts.

According to the officer, the man had given the horse a back-handed swat in one of its haunches.

This, the man would soon discover, is a big no-no. You don’t hit a police officer and you don’t hit a police officer’s horse. The man was detained and, after attempting to flee, arrested.

The officer says that having mounted officers is a big advantage for the ABQPD. It’s deterrence because a uniformed officer on horseback is a very visual reminder that the popo is in the neighborhood (NEIGH-borhood?). At the same time, the officer explains, it’s good for community engagement because people want to come up and look at the horse.

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You can see the video which I’ve posted below. Here’s what it looks like to me: some cops on horseback show up in an area that is known for public intoxication, loitering (even though this happened at a bus stop, it looked like the bus was going to Methville), and people on drugs. The spectacle of a horse in town surprises people, some of whom KNOW they should avoid the police. A man is drunk in broad daylight…ACTS like a man drunk in broad daylight, and gets arrested. With any luck, he’ll have some felony warrants out and you can make a meaningful collar. All in a day’s work.

Seriously, though, don’t mess with a police animal. Forget smacking a horse on the ass, there have been MULTIPLE cases of people being arrested just for BARKING at a police dog, some of them even Florida Gators star linebackers.

Here’s the video about the Albuquerque horse-slapper: