Dallas teen knocked out by police horse at State Fair of Texas, family says

DALLAS – The family of a teen injured by a Dallas police horse at the State Fair of Texas is speaking out for the first time.

The State Fair of Texas at Fair Park is an annual tradition for the Macharia family. The family of five took a photo in front of a Little Big Tex on Tuesday.

But when it came to taking a photo in front of Big Tex, Dallas police say a mounted police officer was patrolling Big Tex Circle when the horse was startled.  The officer tried to regain control of the horse, but he was bucked off.

Esther Macharia says her 17-year-old son, Ian Macharia, was injured by the horse.

“I could hear an impact behind me. So I turn around,” she recalled. “The crowd started screaming. That’s when I turned. I saw the horse run. So my son is on the floor.”

Ester says her son had a seizure for the first time in his life after being knocked to the ground and lost consciousness.

“He was moving his hands. His eyes were rolling back and forth. Then he just closed his eyes and just passed out,” she recalled.

Cellphone video recorded by Ian’s father shows Ian being placed onto a stretcher before police say he went to a hospital.

Attorney Ramez Shamieh represents Ian and his mother. He believes mounted police officers are unnecessary at the fair.

“I think in this specific scenario, I think it’s a little over the top. I think it’s all for show,” he said. “We want to get more answers. We want to find out exactly why this happened. We want to get justice for this family, and we want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The state fair says, “The safety of everyone at the State Fair of Texas is our number one priority. We are deeply saddened that a fairgoer and officer were injured… and we hope they make a full recovery soon.”

Esther says her son is home recovering but does not remember exactly what happened.

“He knew there was an impact,” she said.

However, Ester will always remember the moment she says her son lost consciousness.

“I can’t even get away from it,” she said. “I’m thinking about it. I’m replaying it in my head.”

The family’s attorney is asking anyone with video of the incident to contact him.

The Dallas Police Department chose not to comment.