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Police have arrested a woman accused of slapping a police officer's horse during a Kansas City rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Kansas City Police Department said April J. Foster, 29, was arrested about 5 p.m. Friday in the 9200 block of Ward Parkway for abuse of a police service animal.
Police said two officers were called to 13th and Main streets about 7 p.m. on March 12 to help with crowd control during the Trump rally. About 20 minutes later they said a large group of protesters starting putting scarves and masks on to cover their faces.
They then locked arms and began chanting "Whose streets. Our streets" before backing into the street, blocking traffic and moving towards the officers.
The officers said they told the protesters to get back on the sidewalk and out of the street many times, but the group did not obey. The officers, along with their horses, blocked the crowd from further getting into the street and again told the protesters to move back onto the sidewalk.
Police said Foster approached an officer and his horse named Dan and began yelling and screaming in the horse's face, trying to scare the animal.
"When this tactic did not work she attempted to push my horse with no success. I observed this to only make her more angry and violent and in a last attempt she struck my horse in the face with an open hand," the officer's report said.
The officer said Foster then ran away and they weren't able to catch up to her due to the size of the crowd.
Police Chief Darryl Forte blogged about how officers handled the large crowds at the Trump rally and defended his force's use of pepper spray. He also talked about the assault on the police horse.
"The officers called in our Mounted Patrol for back up to break the two groups apart and get them out of the street. In the course of that, a police horse was assaulted. More officers were called in to help maintain safety and order. Some of the people gathered outside began to put on personal protective equipment (gas masks). Several of them tried to rush the front doors of the theater, blocking Main Street in the process," Forte wrote.
Police said they received a tip on their hotline that identified Foster.
Foster was released after posting a $500 bond. She is scheduled to appear in municipal court on at 9 a.m. on May 4.