By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-01-09 19:34:29 | Updated at 2025-01-10 04:00:30
8 hours ago
A police officer is suing the Met Police after she was seriously injured when her horse bolted during a Black Lives Matter protest.
PC Nicky Vernon claims the force was aware her 14-year-old horse Rocky had a history of unsafe behaviour and "exposed her to a foreseeable risk of injury."
In the incident, which took place in June 2020, Vernon was thrown backwards off the horse when she collided with a traffic light in Whitehall after protesters threw missiles at officers.
The 47-year-old was left in hospital for eight days with a collapsed lung, broken collarbone and shattered ribs. She has now filed a High Court negligence case.
The 47-year-old was thrown from the horse during the protests
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The protests took place following the death of George Floyd
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Protesters clashed with horses on Whitehall
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The incident caused PC Vernon to be slammed into a traffic light and was knocked unconscious before the horse continued galloping down the road where it hit a woman protester and a lamppost.
The Metropolitan Police Federation revealed at the time that PC Vernon was likely to be off duty for four months because of her injuries, with its chairman Ken Marsh calling her and her colleagues "heroes" for their actions on the day.
GB News has approached the Met Police for a comment.
The Met Police said at the time that total of 27 police officers were hurt during the protests in London.
At least 27 police officers were hurt during the protests in London
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Asia Ahmed, an activist who attended several of the protests, told BBC News shortly after the protest: "These situations don't come from nowhere". She told the BBC she had seen the police "acting very aggressively" towards protesters.
Ahmed said that a "lot of people" she spoke to "feared for their lives when they saw police horses".
She told reporters: "I don't think that was the best tactic to use if you're trying to create a peaceful environment."
