A Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office deputy riding a horse broke her arm when a small bridge collapsed late Wednesday afternoon.
Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com
The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office deputy who fell into a creek with her horse Wednesday evening is recovering with a broken arm, police said.
The deputy was scheduled to undergo a surgery related to the break Thursday morning, said Sgt. Geoff Fox of the sheriff's office.
The deputy and her horse were attempting to cross a small walkway over a creek in Superior Township around 5 p.m. Wednesday when the bridge collapsed beneath them, according to officials.
The deputy and horse fell into the creek. The horse was not injured, but the woman was taken to the hospital at 5:32 p.m. for the broken arm, officials said.
The creek is near the MacArthur Boulevard area where "The Ballin' Series" basketball tournament takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. The mounted patrol was in the area for the tournament, sheriff officials said.
Ballin’ on the Boulevard is a free eight-week 3-on-3 basketball tournament put on by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office in the tennis courts near MacArthur Boulevard.
Fox said the sheriff's office increasingly uses mounted patrols when the weather gets nice. They were used recently at Ypsilanti and Willow Run schools when the school year was ending in an attempt to prevent any high jinks.
Fox pointed out that the horses don't cost tax payers any additional money.
"The horses are owned, paid for, cared for and fed by the officers personally," he said. "The officers house the horses and transport them to locations with their personal trailers. The (sheriff's office) does not spend any money on the horses and does not own them. This all comes out of the officer's pocket."
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.