Before daybreak on February 20, Philadelphia Police got a frantic call from one of their officers. “Yes, I need help. There's a horse on 95 Northbound ramp and they are requesting help, help to catch this horse.” The dispatcher asks, incredulously, “Catch a horse?” “That's correct sir."
With that, the race was on. Rush hour was beginning, and both the escaped horse and drivers on the highway were in danger.
Within an hour the horse, galloping down an off-ramp, was corralled by State Police and Philadelphia Police cruisers, and the officers tied the horse to a tree. Shortly after, a van from Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club arrived to take the horse home to the Strawberry Mansion stables.
The horse, its mane flowing as he galloped alongside traffic, startled, enchanted, worried and amazed those who saw him. One witness, who was a passenger in a shuttle heading north on the interstate, was clearly awed. “He was in full stride,” Deborah Rogers told CBS News. “It was the most majestic thing I’ve ever seen. I just prayed for a minute and said ‘help this animal if you can.’” The horse, since named “Freeway” by the young people at Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, finished his adventure without injury.
But Freeway proved two important points:
- Horses often escape from the places where they’re housed.
- And those who are charged with public safety should be prepared for the unexpected.
Another Horse Outran His Luck
Near midnight on December 21, 2021 an unnamed horse was hit by a car near Route 1 in Avondale, PA. Though it was apparently a significant impact which activated air bags, Neither the horse nor the driver of the car was injured and State Police arrived at the scene. It was late at night, so there was not much traffic. Still, the State Police officers on the scene deployed several strategies to prevent the horse from creating danger for motorists.
They fashioned a “rope” from jumper cables but could not capture the horse. They shot at the horse, hitting him but not stopping him. They used the police cruiser to ram the horse several times. The sixth time the officer rammed the horse, it finally fell, and the officer drove the cruiser up onto the fallen horse. Another officer euthanized the injured animal.
The officer who was driving the cruiser, Corporal Michael Perillo, was charged seven months later with several counts of animal cruelty. The action was instigated by the Pennsylvania State Police Internal Affairs, a division of the agency that investigates incidents and possible suspicions of criminal and professional misconduct attributed to members of the parent force. The Chester County District Attorney in 2022 was Deb Ryan, who said that “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.” Perillo was suspended from the State Police without pay, pending the outcome of legal proceedings.
Those proceedings didn’t proceed. Perillo’s trial was scheduled, then postponed. Scheduled, then postponed. Over the course of nearly two years, Perillo’s trial was postponed thirteen times. A new District Attorney was elected. And, in June—a mere two and half years after the horse died, the charges against Perillo were dropped on June 4.
In his letter to the judge, requesting the dismissal of charges, District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said that “this is an irregular case that presents complex legal issues.” His letter was also signed by Deputy District Attorney Kate Wright, who was prosecuting the case. “In short,” de Barrena-Sarobe continued, “while there is ample probable cause to support the initial charging decision, after a review of the applicable defense at trial, I do not believe that the Commonwealth can meet its burden of proving this offense beyond a reasonable doubt.”
He subsequently told the media that Perillo’s attorney planned to argue that the officer’s actions were necessary because the horse could potentially have caused a serious accident, and he pointed out that the law places a higher value on human life than animal life. “I believe the necessity defense is valid and would be successful at trial.”
Perillo Reinstated
According to Myles Snyder, Communications Director for Pennsylvania State Police, Perillo is back on the job—albeit a job with more limited scope. “Cpl. Perillo was removed from suspended without pay status after the charges were dismissed. Per department policy, he has now been placed on restricted duty status while an internal investigation is conducted to determine what, if any, department policies and procedures were violated. Personnel placed on restricted duty status are normally limited to duties within the station.”
So many things went wrong on that December night, from a lack of planning to an apparent lack of training to deal with a situation that is not uncommon in areas where there are a lot of horse farms. When asked about potential training for the Pennsylvania State Police, Snyder responded: “Best practices for an incident such as this are constantly being reviewed and updated in consultation with subject matter experts.”
Training Programs Are Available
Jo Ann Bashore, who is President of Fair Hill Emergency Response Team, (Fairhillert.org) a non-profit that provides emergency response, transport for injured equines and training for first responders, says that her organization offers one-day training. “We had a grant last year to cover any first responder or police. We’re trying to educate all first responders—and basic horse owners, too.” Unfortunately, she says, it has been difficult to get first responders to come to the programs.
She says that her group had worked with Pennsylvania State Police on a couple of cases and assisted them earlier this year. “We were talking to the Avondale commander. We told them we would—at no charge to them—provide training to police. We put that out there in March.” She says that she was not “pointing fingers,” but the incident with Perillo was on her mind. No response so far from Pennsylvania State Police.
Fair Hill Emergency Response Team has 30 volunteers trained in technical large animal rescue on call 24/7, and they’re available to assist throughout the tri-state area (Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware). Bashore says that they’ve applied for another grant to cover three-day training next year, and that program will feature equine experts from all over the world. With any luck, the program will attract some first responders.
Fair Hill ERT
Fair Hill Emergency Response Team is a non-profit, and like most non-profits they rely on grants and donations. Bashore says they’re now raising money to purchase a horse mannequin, to provide hands-on training for first responders. She says they currently borrow a mannequin from another organization, and that mannequin is “on its last legs.” Interested donors can check their website www.fairhillert.org.