London Protest Police Horse which Bolted

[kgal3542]

I am not able to load the videos of what happened due to dodgy internet connection, I have seen some photos. Can anyone update on the condition of the horse? The poor thing looked looked so frightened, am concerned for the horse and it's rider. There are also conflicting reports that the horse trampled a protestor, and another that a protestor was bitten.

My aunt and uncle fostered two police horses that were retired after the miners strikes - the poor animals had cigarette and burn marks on their flanks that never went away. One of them had been glassed in its face. People can be so cruel. It’s not like they chose to be there.

The police rider hit those traffic lights with a right bang.

Tanks have been suggested on this thread.

I was just flagging it.

Water cannons would be ideal.
Non lethal, but push protesters back/off their feet whilst maintaining a safe distance.
Plus once people are cold and wet they are more likely to go home.

I would rather see horses than tanks. They are big & tough and trained for the job. The horses reaction to return to stables was absolutely normal, and it won’t have been traumatised. Policing is one of many jobs that horses are trained to do and do well.
If you want to see deliberate harm to horses, I suggest you watch yesterday’s second race at Newmarket - the winner came in hopping lame & the commentators brushed it off as a “bit sore”

See your point LochJessMonster. Maybe we should all be lobbying for the retirement of all police horses and the use of water cannons instead? I just think that would invite massive criticism. The very word 'cannon' will upset people.

Very hard to know what to do for the best.

I've seen the video from a different angle. Someone threw a bicycle at the chestnut which caused it to bolt, the crowd obviously enjoyed the reaction as then more bikes were thrown while the mounted police were trying to form a cordon around the fallen police officer.

Did anyone wince when the two officers 'dragged' (no choice obviously) the injured officer out of harms way, that must have been agonising with broken ribs and collar bone 😩

Wiki

'Use of water cannon in riot control contexts can lead to injury or death,[2] with fatalities recorded in Indonesia (in 1996, when the cannon's payload contained ammonia),[3] Zimbabwe (in 2007, when the use of cannons on a peaceful crowd caused panic),[4] Turkey (in 2013, when the payload was laced with "liquid teargas"),[5] Ukraine (in 2014, with the death of activist and businessman Bogdan Kalynyak, reportedly catching pneumonia after being sprayed by a water cannon in freezing temperatures)[6] and South Korea (in 2016, when a 68 year old farmer died after injuries sustained by a water cannon the previous year).[7] Water cannons in use during the 1960s, which were generally adapted fire trucks, would knock protesters down and on occasion, tear their clothes.

On 30 September 2010, during a protest demonstration against the Stuttgart 21 project in Germany, a demonstrator was hit in the face by a water cannon.[8] Dietrich Wagner, a retired engineer, suffered damage to his eyelids and retinas[9], resulting in near-complete loss of his eyesight.[8][10] Graphic imagery was recorded of the event, sparking a national debate about police brutality and proportionality in the use of state force.

According to a report issued in the United Kingdom[citation needed], using plastic bullets instead of water cannons was justified because the latter "are inflexible and indiscriminate", although several people had previously been killed[11] or seriously injured by plastic bullets.[citation needed]'

Police horses allow officers a good view over a large crowd. The rider can report back if someone is hurt in the crowd or if people are getting to closely packed in for example.
Officers can also move quickly on them if needed and yes most people will back off when faced with a horse.
The police use them a lot for a good view where they're not really expecting trouble as well as protests etc where it's more likely.

They also allow police to whack people over the head with truncheons, from a position of relative safety.

I remember videos of that from the various riots in the 80s.

Pregnant Porcupine, - a demonstrator threw a bike at a horse and you hope they are fine!!?? I think the injured policewoman is recovering and the horse was caught and taken back to its stables. No thanks to the yobs who attend demos. Not against demos per se - went to one in London about 20 years ago - didn't injure one animal or person.

@FabulouslyElegantTits

I've seen the video from a different angle. Someone threw a bicycle at the chestnut which caused it to bolt, the crowd obviously enjoyed the reaction as then more bikes were thrown while the mounted police were trying to form a cordon around the fallen police officer.

Did anyone wince when the two officers 'dragged' (no choice obviously) the injured officer out of harms way, that must have been agonising with broken ribs and collar bone 😩

Oh god was it her they were dragging 😱

@percheron67 I was referring to the protestor who was run into by the horse after it bolted (as reported in the news). As far as I'm aware there is no suggestion that they did anything other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

@Alexandernevermind

I think they just said on the news that it knocked down a protester. The policewoman was hospitalised, but not seriously injured. One report said the horse ran back to its stables?

She was seriously injured. She had a punctured lung and broken ribs. The behaviour of the thugs that have tagged themselves onto this very worthwhile cause are disgusting. They are not there to protest they are there to riot.

I had cracked ribs from falling orf. Would rather go through childbirth.

Hope the officer is recovering well.

This is the footage I saw.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWm60hEgRU

But I didn't know that bikes were thrown at horses. And I may have taken for granted the Guardian's video title.

I can see bottles being thrown at the horses in that video.

Some police horses definitely not being used as weapons.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=miners+strike+police+horse&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=ivn&sxsrf=ALeKk03IS8XdSjMBm3edi16ulSHTDa4GsA:1591579596127&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwilwNWDiPHpAhU4UxUIHXLhCJ0Q_AUoAXoECA4QAQ&biw=375&bih=553&dpr=2

Seriously why do you think police have fucking horses? It’s not because they just happen to like ponies. It’s because they are really big and you can ride them at crowds of people to make them move.

Good to know that a horse running around is a priority concern, rather than an unarmed man being killed by a knee to his neck. 👌

But I didn't know that bikes were thrown at horses. And I may have taken for granted the Guardian's video title

@TheSparklyPussycat

This is because The Guardian is not reporting news which conflicts with its political agenda. If you are getting your information from The Guardian, you are not getting accurate information. This particular incident is illuminating because what you perceived as an aggressive charge by police was a response to people deliberately chucking bikes at police horses with the deliberate intent of causing injury. The policewoman had a collapsed lung and broken ribs. Are you okay with that kind of violence? Are you okay with the fact the paper which claims facts matter doesn't report them if they are 'problematic?'

Dyrne it's very interesting isn't it.
Qwhite interesting indeed.

Bunty this thread is discussing the horse(s), which are a concern yes. Everyone agrees that George Floyd is more important, but that doesn't render the horse of no importance.

BoveryX point taken.

It is difficult to see what happened but you can see the rider leaning forwards when the horse canters off which is the worst thing you can do. She is also leaning side-ways when she hits the traffic lights. I wonder if she became unbalanced for some reason before or as the horse set off.

Really odd that none of the other riders didn't grab the horse's reins. Maybe they are trained to ignore loose horses.