Did a night of horsing-around get a certain T.V. reporter in trouble last night?
FOX 5 news reporter, Mike Sheehan, was arrested on Monday night after he hit an NYPD horse with his car in the Tribeca area of the city.
Sheehan, who was the guest of honor at the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) Martin J. Kearns Division 4 New York County annual dinner dance last year, refused a Breathalyzer test after his car slammed into a police horse according to the New York Post.
Sheehan, 60, was arrested a little before 10.30 p.m. Monday night after the incident which took place along North Moore Street in Tribeca, Manhattan.
Sheehan, a former NYPD detective and now senior correspondent at WNYW-TV/Fox 5 News, was apparently traveling along North Moore Street when he collided with the NYPD horse that was coming towards him.
After the accident the horse fled the scene and was later found a block away with minor injuries to his chest and right leg.
After refusing a sobriety test, Sheehan, who has been a T.V. reporter since 1993, was arrested and charged with causing injury to a police animal and declining to take a Breathalyzer test.
Sheehan’s defense lawyer Thomas Monaghan said the horse slammed into Sheehan's car, "not the other way around."
He said the truth would vindicate Sheehan.
The NYPD officer on the horse, whose name has not been released, was, according to sources, taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital with an injury to his right leg.
Sheehan was released on his own recognizance and Fox 5 says its management "is aware of the matter and is reviewing it."
Sheehan, who grew up in East Harlem when it had a considerable Italian and Irish population, has been nominated for a half-dozen Emmy awards, including his on-the-scene coverage of the 9/11 attacks.
He has been involved with many Irish events over the years. In 2007 he emceed a charity event that hosted the Irish Tenors in Brooklyn.
During his 25 years as an NYPD detective, Sheehan spent most of his years investigating homicides. Some of the most horrific cases he worked on included the Robert Chambers strangulation of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in Central Park; rooftop killer Manny Torres and zodiac serial killer Heriberto Seres.
Sheehan was arraigned Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court. He was released without bail and told to return May 19.
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