New York Civil Liberties Union requests investigation into use of horses at protest outside Hofstra University prior to US Presidential debate

According to Newsday, the New York Civil Liberties Union has asked the Nassau County Police Department to investigate its use of horses to control the crowd during the protest just prior to the third and final US Presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead on October 15, 2008.

The investigation appears to be centered on what happened after the arrests, and whether or not the mounted police put veterans and civilians at risk by using their horses to maintain control, resulting in injuries to at least three people.

A major question appears to be whether or not the injuries took place in the street, or on the sidewalk. Police made it clear to spectators that the sidewalks were "free speech zones," but protesters were not permitted in the street.

Photos and video taken at the scene reveal a partial glimpse of the melee, and its bloody aftermath.

At the 1:25 mark of the top video (featuring Jackie Fernandez of TheHunterWORD), it appears that there are two people down on the sidewalk, with mounted police at the curb.

By synching the top video to the 1:38 mark, the middle video to the 0:20 mark, and the third video by Kevin Gallagher to the 2:40 mark, you get three angles on the exact same incident.

You can synch all videos to the sound of CodePink members chanting "Peace, Shalom, Shalom."

The two people on the sidewalk in the videos above included Nadine Lupka, a kindergarten teacher in the NYC public school system, and IVAW member Nick Morgan:

Kindergarten teacher Nadine Lupka. Photo: Beth Glick

IVAW member Nick Morgan. Photo: Bill Perry

According to witnesses at the scene, a second IVAW member was also injured. Additionally, the unidentified woman in this video claimed to have been knocked down with a nightstick.