Martin Luther King, Jr. frequently reminded people that justice doesn’t happen overnight. “The arc of the moral universe is long,” he said. “But it bends toward justice.” The possibility that justice may seem elusive but is not beyond the grasp of courts and plaintiffs and regular people is comforting. To a point. The reality is that there are hundreds of tactics, diversions, and strategies that can postpone justice—for weeks, months, years.
And so it is that former Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Michael Perillo’s court date has been postponed again, to the dismay of people who are anxious to see justice done on behalf of a horse that had wandered onto a Chester County highway late at night on December 21, 2021.
Perillo and another trooper were sent to investigate when a motorist called police to say he had struck a horse that was on the road near Route 1 in Avondale. The driver said that neither he nor the horse was injured. When they arrived at the scene Perillo and his partner tried to capture the horse. They had no ropes or equipment suitable for the job, but they tried to use a couple of battery jumper cables as a rope. After several attempts to block the horse from running away, Perillo—according to the Chester County District Attorney’s report—rammed the horse several times with his cruiser. Finally, he pinned the horse under the cruiser and another officer euthanized the horse.
As a result of the incident, in July 2022 Perillo was charged with several counts of animal cruelty, including torture and cruelty that resulted in the animal’s death. And he was suspended without pay from the Pennsylvania State Police. Numerous trial dates have been set at the Chester County Courthouse, and each time Perillo’s trial has been postponed.
Currently, a discovery hearing is scheduled for October 12, followed by a trial to begin October 17, both at the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County.
The District Attorney has said that repeated postponements are not unusual. Assistant District Attorney Kate Wright explains that Perillo’s attorney continues to file motions, and that her office will respond to the motions and eventually the case will come to trial. “One of the things people don’t expect if they’re not familiar with the criminal justice system is things don’t happen as quickly as they expect them to.”
Excessive Force
Before Perillo was assigned to the Avondale barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police, he was assigned to Troop K, which serves Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware Counties. In January 2016, while on patrol on I-95 Perillo encountered 75-year-old Dominico Mirarchi, who was walking along the highway enroute to feed his goats. It was snowing and the road was icy. Mirarchi had left his car along the shoulder. What happened next, according to a lawsuit filed by Mirarchi, was a nightmare. In his lawsuit against Perillo, Mirarchi claimed that Perillo approached him with his gun drawn. Mirarchi had his hands in the air. Perillo handcuffed him and threw him against the door of the police cruiser. In the end, Mirarchi was neither arrested nor given a ticket. But, according to his lawsuit, he did suffer injuries, including a concussion, sprains of his cervical spine and shoulder, and abrasions.
The case was settled out of court in October 2018. Mirarchi died in 2020.
Criminal Mischief
In July 2018, Perillo was arrested in Warminster, PA and charged with criminal mischief resulting in property damage. He pled guilty in August 2018 and the case was closed.