Horse as a criminal case

Horse ate neighbor’s lettuce: police investigated

A horse had a taste of the neighbor's greens (symbolic image).

(Bild: dpa/Julian Stratenschulte)

Because a horse ate the neighbor's lettuce plants, the public prosecutor's office investigated damage to property. The owner was even summoned to the identification service.

"I think I'm being kicked by a horse," a woman from Upper Styria must have thought recently: Her horse has been enjoying its life in a paddock for years. Recently, however, there was a scandal: the neighbor's delicious lettuce plants suddenly appeared in front of the ungulate's nose. "You don't look a gift horse in the mouth," the four-legged friend probably thought, devouring the delicacy with relish and leaving a few hoofprints in the destroyed bed.

This is how cartoonist Werner Haidenhofer sees the controversial case.

(Bild: Werner Haidenhofer)

The vegetable owner was furious. The story even went so far that the public prosecutor's office in Leoben launched an investigation into damage to property. What's more, a police officer called and texted the owner of the vegetable thief to have herself identified (fingerprints taken, photos taken), including an appointment and the remark that legal assistance was not provided and that the district authority would be called in if she was not present. The woman from Upper Styria called lawyer Marc Simbürger. He found gross misconduct on the part of the police: "The failed attempt to take my client's fingerprints like a serious criminal was a completely excessive measure!" They also tried to prevent her from consulting a lawyer.

The failed attempt to fingerprint my client like a serious criminal was a completely excessive measure!

Anwalt Marc Simbürger

According to the police, everything went correctly. Spokesman Heimo Kohlbacher: "The complaint was filed by the alleged victim. It was suspected that the owner of the horse had let her animal into the bed after an argument. Identification treatment would have been lawful, but the woman did not comply with the request. The authorities then refrained from doing so and the public prosecutor's office closed the investigation."