No Criminal Investigation In Arrest Of Black Man By Mounted Cops

GALVESTON, TX — Authorities will not be conducting a criminal investigation into the conduct of two mounted Galveston police officers who led a black man through city streets tied to a rope after arresting him on a criminal trespass charge.

"At the request of the Galveston Police Department, the Texas Rangers conducted an inquiry into this matter, which has since been completed," the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement. "The Rangers subsequently conferred with the Galveston Co. District Attorney’s Office, which determined that there was nothing that warranted a criminal investigation."

Vernon L. Hale III, Galveston's police chief, apologized to Donald Neely, 43 for the "unnecessary embarrassment" after photos of the Aug.3 arrest were widely shared. Lawyers for Neely had filed a Freedom of Information requesting that police release bodycam footage from the officers involved in the arrest be released.

The attorneys said releasing the video will provide transparency into how Neely was spoken to prior to being led by the mounted officers. Ben Crump, a civil rights and personal injury attorney who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, said that if the department does not release the video in a timely manner, he will organize a "Great March on Galveston."

"Regardless of the Texas Rangers’ findings, the community behind Mr. Donald Neely are demanding transparency and accountability," Crump said in a statement after the Rangers' decision that a criminal investigation was not warranted. "The only way to rebuild trust after this instance of bad policing is to be transparent and send a clear message that Mr. Neely was deserving of respect, just as any other American citizen."