As the ongoing demonstrations against ICE raids continue, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)’s use of police horses for crowd control is being called into question.
Over the past two weeks alone, dozens of videos have been shared of mounted officers on horseback trampling protesters and riding horses through fireworks and clouds of tear gas.
On June 8th, the Los Angeles-based account Hear In LA shared a video of multiple law enforcement officers on horseback repeatedly trampling an unknown person. Seconds into the video, what appears to be fireworks are set off in the direction of the mounted officers and the unidentified person who was trampled.
In response, one X user posted, “Trampled by two horses and [whacked] with a baton all while lying on the ground unarmed.”
Based on the video clip alone, it’s unclear what events led up to the incident, but the presence of officers on horseback in the midst of explosives raises major concerns about the safety of protesters, as well as the well-being of the animals.