In Meyler v. Mayor & City Council of Ocean City, decided last month by Judge James Bredar (D. Md.), police officers came over to Meyler and his friends near a bar at 2 am, because one of the friends was playing music loudly on his car radio.
One of the responding officers, Officer Foreman, was mounted on a police horse named Moose…. [At some point in ther action, as shown on the video], Meyler turns toward Moose and makes some clicking sounds. Moose does not immediately react, but about five seconds later he visibly moves his head and appears to take a step or two in response to the clicking, after having previously been still. Foreman's hands can then be seen briefly pulling on the reins to stop Moose's movement; after that point Moose appears calm and still again, and remains calm for the remainder of the video….
After more conversation among the officer, Meyler, and Meyler's friend, and more clicking by Meyler at the horse, Meyler "was arrested for failure to obey a lawful order and interference with a police animal," though the charges were later dropped. Meyler sued for false arrest, in part on the grounds "that he suffered hand abrasions, numbness, and back pain as a result of being handcuffed." But the court rejected Meyler's claims; here's an excerpt:
