Photo Of Officer Laying With Police Horse Goes Viral (Photo)

A heartbreaking photo of a police officer laying in the street with a police horse after the animal was struck by a vehicle is going viral.

According to Chron, Charlotte is a 6-year-old Tennessee Walker ridden by Officer D. Herrejon of the Houston Police Department. Charlotte was was in the street with the officer when she was startled by traffic noise behind her. She turned to the side, stepped into another lane, and was hit by a passing concrete truck.

Charlotte tragically did not survive the accident. As she lay in the street in her last moments, an officer laid down next to her to comfort and embrace her. A spokesperson for the Houston Police says that a bystander took the photo of the touching moment.

According to a Facebook post by the Animal Justice League, the officer pictured with Charlotte is not Officer Herrejon, who had been taken to a nearby hospital, but his partner, Officer Ronald Curry.

“We’ve always said we support ALL animals and know the relationship with those animals & their person is an incredible thing,” the Animal Justice League wrote in their Facebook post about the incident. “Yesterday, here in Houston, a police horse backed into the wheel well of a concrete truck and sustained a broken leg. While Officer Herrejon (Charlotte’s partner) was being transported by ambulance to the hospital, another officer, Ronald Curry laid her down and covered her face while she took her last breaths before being euthanized on the scene.”

The post continued, “We admire the heart & strength of this officer because as you know, when you lose an animal, to be with them during their last breath is a heartbreaking & tough thing to do. Our hearts go out to both officers & the HPD family. RIP Charlotte.”

Charlotte came to the Houston Police Department from Oklahoma and spent four years with the department, as Chron reports.

According to AWM, the Houston Police Department shared a post announcing Charlotte’s death on their Facebook page as well.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Charlotte, an HPD Mounted Patrol horse, who died in the line of duty this morning in a motor vehicle accident,” the department’s post reads. “Charlotte came to HPD as an unstarted 2-year old Tennessee Walker from Oklahoma. She thrived in HPD Mounted Patrol’s barefoot and natural horsemanship programs. She passed her evaluation period with flying colors and was working the streets of Downtown Houston within a short time of being started under saddle. She loved her job and was always ready to go to work putting bad guys in jail or giving nuzzles to children. She served the citizens of Houston for 4 years. She will be missed.”

Sources: Chron, AWM, Animal Justice League/Facebook / Photo Credit: Houston Police Department via Chron