Pa. state trooper who hit horse with car will not be prosecuted for animal cruelty, DA says

A Pennsylvania state trooper who deliberately struck a runaway horse with his patrol car on a highway in Chester County in 2021 no longer faces animal cruelty charges.

Cpl. Michael Perillo repeatedly hit the horse, causing injuries so severe that the animal had to be euthanized. He was charged with two counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and related crimes in the death of the horse, which had veered into traffic in Lower Oxford Township.

But prosecutors concluded that the incident, while tragic, did not amount to a crime and declined to pursue the charges because the trooper said he was trying to prevent the loss of human life.

Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said Perillo’s actions were “deeply disturbing,” but presented “complex legal issues” that would have made it difficult for prosecutors to prove their case.

In a letter to Chester County Court Judge Bret Binder, the DA said he believed Perillo had a “valid defense” for his actions.

“Trooper Perillo intends to argue that the horse that was killed in this case had to be hit by his car to prevent a potential serious car accident,” de Barrena-Sarobe wrote. “Because the law requires all individuals, including police officers, to value the lives of humans over animals, I believe that the necessity defense is valid and would be successful at trial.”

As a consequence, the district attorney said, he did not intend to prosecute the case.

Binder approved that decision in court Tuesday, bringing the criminal case against Perillo to a close.

Perillo, a 17-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, could not be immediately reached for comment.

His attorney, William Davis, said it was regrettable that the horse was killed, but that Perillo did not have the training to bring the 1,200-pound animal under control and did what he thought was necessary to protect people on the road.

“In his mind it was a necessity to prevent a person or a family from being hurt on the highway,” said Davis.

Before Perillo hit the horse with his car that night in December 2021, the animal had already caused an accident when it was struck by a woman driving a sedan, de Barrena-Sarobe said in his letter to the judge. Two other troopers had unsuccessfully tried to wrangle the horse, including by creating a makeshift lasso out of jumper cables, by the time Perillo arrived, the DA said.

Even as he moved to end the criminal case, de Barrena-Sarobe said he was troubled by what happened that night. Before Petrillo arrived at the scene, the DA said, other troopers took steps that likely frightened the horse and heightened the potential danger to drivers on the highway. And watching Perillo hit the animal repeatedly with his patrol car — actions captured on dash cam video — was upsetting, he said.

Perillo, who was suspended without pay after the incident, has been returned to duty, albeit on restricted status while an internal investigation into whether he violated any policies or procedures continues, a spokesperson for the state police said.