Dewey horse-punching lawsuit set for trial

A federal lawsuit over an incident in Dewey Beach involving the alleged punching of a police horse is set to go to trial in May, eight years after the initial incident took place.

U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Williams has ordered a three-day jury trial starting Wednesday, May 27, in Wilmington in a case brought by Gavin Coco against defendant Helen Zane of the Delaware State Police. Coco had originally brought suit against two other officers involved in the incident, but those officers were dismissed from the suit as it has played out in federal court.

According to court documents, on May 26, 2018, Zane and another officer were working as part of a mounted unit assisting Dewey Beach officers during Memorial Day weekend. A crowd gathered outside the Wings-to-Go restaurant as a woman was being arrested by law enforcement. The crowd soon became unruly, with fights breaking out among the 40 to 50 people gathered. Zane and the other officer responded to the area to help disperse the crowd.

At some point, one of the officers’ horses, J.R., got in close proximity to Coco and allegedly stepped on his toe. Zane rode her horse, Poseidon, toward Coco and as the two met, Coco's action allegedly caused Poseidon to throw his head back. It is disputed whether Coco struck Poseidon; Coco says he did not, while Zane claims Coco made a fist and struck Poseidon in the neck. Coco alleges Zane grabbed him to detain him until a ground officer could arrive. 

Charges of harassment of a law enforcement animal levied against Coco were dismissed in Delaware Court of Common Pleas in October 2018. In November 2018, Coco filed a federal lawsuit against the three officers involved, with only Zane remaining part of the suit today. 

The most recent action in the case was a motion of summary judgment filed by Zane, citing qualified immunity, but that was denied in March. 

In his ruling, Williams said video evidence is not totally clear on whether Coco struck Poseidon. Testimony from other officers at the scene supported Coco’s version of events, which is that he never struck Poseidon and was too far away from the horse to have done so. Because of this, Williams determined a jury might rule in Coco’s favor.

“Despite the chaotic nature of the night in question, a jury could find facts that lead to the conclusion that plaintiff was unlawfully detained and a reasonable officer in defendant’s position at the time of the alleged incident would not have believed there was probable cause to detain plaintiff under the circumstances,” Williams said in his decision. 

In April, Zane, represented by attorneys from the Delaware Department of Justice, asked for the case to be continued and the trial delayed due to the fact that new attorneys have been assigned to the case. Coco, through his attorney Stephen Norman, has opposed that motion, arguing the department’s internal personnel decisions are not unforeseen emergencies that should necessitate a continuance.

Williams has not yet made a ruling on the state’s motion.