Houston Police Use Horses to Trample Non-Violent Demonstrators

Brian Zick

Via Matt Stoller at MyDD, Justice for Janitors reports that the Houston Police used horses to intimidate and corral janitors participating in a non-violent strike demonstration, with the result that four people were injured, including an 83-year old janitor from New York. “The horses came all of a sudden. They started jumping on top of people. I heard the women screaming. A horse stomped on top of me. I fell to the ground and hurt my arm. The horses just kept coming at us. I was terrified. I never thought the police would do something so aggressive, so violent.” -- Mateo Portillo, 33 Houston Janitor

The text is from the poem “QUADRENNIAL” by Golden, reprinted with permission. It was first published in the Poetry Project. Inside front cover photo by Golden.
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