VIDEO: Man on Horseback Eludes St. Louis Cop in Ballpark Village

It may not have been an old town road, but over the weekend a shirtless man on horseback apparently decided he could ride no more in Ballpark Village — and chose to escape on foot as a St. Louis cop gave chase with gun drawn.

Footage of the incident, first aired by KMOV and reporter Russel Kinsaul, shows the confrontation as it played out in downtown St. Louis on Saturday. The incident takes only about a minute to escalate to an armed face-off between an officer and the rider.

As shown on the raw footage of the surveillance video, obtained and posted Wednesday by KSDK, the horse turns toward the officer as he approaches. Gun drawn, the officer appears to demand the rider dismount — and then yanks the rider's arm when he refuses.

With the rider on the ground, the tussle continues. The rider, still holding the reins in his right hand, changes direction and flees the scene — with the horse trotting along behind him, appearing to be unbothered by the whole thing.

Citing unnamed sources, KMOV reported that the rider was armed himself, though the weapon isn't visible on the grainy surveillance video. KSDK, citing its own independent sources, reports that the officer who pulled his gun is an instructor at the St. Louis police academy.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the incident.

Follow Danny Wicentowski on Twitter at @D_Towski. E-mail the author at [email protected]

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