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Two white policemen who took a black man by a rope on a street in Galveston, Texas, will not be charged with criminal charges this month, authorities said Sunday, which resolved the issue. One of two external investigations on their behavior.
The Galveston Police Department had asked the Texas Row Division of the State Public Security Department to check whether the police had committed crimes.
"The Texas Rangers have conducted an investigation into this case, which has since been completed," said the public security agency declaration. "The Rangers then spoke to the Galveston County Attorney's Office, which determined that there was no justification for a criminal investigation."
Donald Neely, 43, who according to his relatives is mentally ill and has often slept in the street, was arrested on August 3 on a criminal offense charge. When a police vehicle was not immediately available, officers on board escorted him with the help of a rope to get to a nearby staging area. the police said.
The scene was filmed by an observer and widely shared on social media, sparking national outrage by evoking images of slavery and the long history of white racism and violence against whitewashed people. Black.
In addition to the state investigation, the Galveston County Sheriff's Office was also asked to check whether the police had violated the police department's policies. A man who answered the phone at the sheriff's office Sunday evening said that no one was available to answer questions about the investigation.
Two days after Mr. Neely's arrest, Vernon L. Hale III, Galveston Police Chief, apologized for what he called "bad judgment," claiming they could have waited until a vehicle is available. But he also defended the officers, saying that they were simply using a technique for which they had been trained.
Geoff Gainer, president of the Galveston Municipal Police Association, said in a statement that officers "are expected to pick the least bad solution, follow the best practices and guidelines of the service, and these agents have done just that. .
"Our officers have faced a difficult choice because they do their job every day," he added. "Their job is to promote public safety and enforce our laws. They did it to the best of their abilities, followed all the trainings and protocols that had been provided to them and maintained their professionalism throughout. "
Chief Hale said the department will stop using rope escorts. The method had been "considered a best practice in some scenarios, such as during crowd control," the department said in a statement after the arrest of Mr. Neely.
"Whatever the conclusions of the Texas Rangers, the community behind Donald Neely demands transparency and accountability," said Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Neely's family, in a statement on Friday. "The only way to restore confidence after this case of poor policing is to be transparent and send a clear message that Mr. Neely deserved to be respected, just like any other American citizen. "
Kevin Petroff, the first Deputy Attorney for Galveston County, said his office was trying to find an agreement for Mr. Neely to receive treatment for mental health problems instead of a criminal conviction.
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