September 2022 Issue

www. EquineColicReliefUSA.com • Email: zebecash2@hotmail.com Page 20 September 2022 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Suzanne Bush December 21, 2021 turned out to be a tragic end for an unnamed horse near Oxford, PA. Just before midnight Pennsyl- vania State Police (PSP) from Troop J in Avondale responded to a call about a horse standing on the shoulder of Route 1, a four- lane divided highway. The horse reportedly had been struck by a motorist. What happened next is both inexplicable and horrific; and one of the responding officers, Cor- poral Michael Perillo, has now been charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals causing death, aggravated cruelty to animals by torture and cruelty to animals. He was arraigned at the Chester County Justice Center and bail was set at $50,000 unse- cured. A Tortured Death The Chester County Dis- trict Attorney, Deb Ryan, in a statement released on Facebook and via Instagram, said that “the horse that was loose on US-1 last December suffered a tortured death at the hands of Cpl. Michael Perillo. Inflicting such pain on an innocent animal is unthinkable and inexcusable. No one is above the law, and my office will hold the defendant accountable for his actions.” Just before summarizing the events that culminated in the horse’s death, the statement went on to affirm that every defendant is considered inno- cent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Perillo and another offi- cer responded to a call about a horse standing on the shoulder of US Route 1 in Lower Oxford Twp. According to the report, the horse had been struck by a car and there was some damage to the vehicle, but no injuries to anyone. When the troopers arrived on the scene, the horse began walking north in the southbound lane of Route 1. The troopers were apparently not prepared for the possibility of actually helping the horse get out of danger. “One trooper unsuccessfully tried to capture the horse using a makeshift rope from jumper cables,” according to the DA’s office. The horse moved away again, this time onto the south- bound on-ramp toward Route 10. Perillo drove behind the horse onto the ramp, he activated his emergency lights and tried to block the horse, which tried to go around the car. Perillo reposi- tioned his car and the horse tried again to go around it. That’s when Perillo first used the car to hit the horse. The horse turned around and went toward Route 1, Caution: Graphic Content (Continued on page 27) State Trooper Charged with Aggravated Cruelty After Ramming Horse