Austin police arrested a woman for hitting two of their own Monday – one of the victims was a police horse.
The incident happened around 2:30 a.m., when officers responded to a stabbing call near the Bayou Lounge on East Sixth Street.
During the investigation, a large crowd gathered.
The officers called a mounted patrol for assistance when the crowd would not back up.
Officers on horseback moved most of the crowd away from the scene.
Police said three women refused to back up any further.
One of those women was Corsha Beasley.
Beasley then took off her shoe and used it to hit police horse, Dusty, in the face twice.
When the officer riding Dusty reached for Beasley, she then struck him in the face with her shoe.
Fortunately, neither Dusty nor his rider suffered serious injuries.
Police said these incidents are rare, even though mounted patrols are commonly used with crowd control in Downtown Austin.
Beasley faces one charge each of assaulting a public servant and interfering with a police service animal.
Both charges are state felonies.
If convicted, Beasley could get six months to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
