In Meyler v. Mayor & City Council of Ocean City, a recent case decided by Judge James Bredar (D. Md.), police officers approached Meyler and his friends near a bar at 2 am due to loud music playing on a car radio.
During the incident, Officer Foreman, mounted on a police horse named Moose, was involved. At one point, Meyler made clicking sounds towards Moose, who appeared to react by moving his head and taking a few steps before Foreman intervened to calm the horse.
Following further interaction and clicking by Meyler towards the horse, Meyler was arrested for disobeying an order and interfering with a police animal, although the charges were later dropped. Meyler then filed a lawsuit for false arrest, claiming injuries from being handcuffed. The court, however, dismissed Meyler’s claims, stating:
Officer Foreman had reasonable grounds to believe that Meyler was hindering Moose’s police duties by clicking. Despite a potential dispute over Moose’s reaction, Foreman’s actions were justified in the moment. Additionally, Foreman testified that clicking noises are commonly used by mounted police officers for commands.
Meyler argued for his First Amendment right to make clicking sounds towards Moose, but even if violated, officers were entitled to qualified immunity as the right was not clearly established at the time of the arrest.
Meyler failed to provide any relevant precedents on arrests related to police animal interference or the application of First Amendment rights in human-animal interactions. Without sufficient evidence of a constitutional violation in similar circumstances, his claim for a clearly established right falls short.
For more details, including allegations of race discrimination, the full opinion can be accessed here.
Bruce Frederick Bright from Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy & Almand PA represents the City.
