Pennsylvania State Police have charged a trooper with aggravated cruelty to animals for an on-duty incident.

It happened when Corporal Michael Perillo was called to help with an incident involving a loose horse on the roadway in Chester County Dec. 28, 2021.

Perillo is accused of driving his patrol vehicle into the horse multiple times upon arrival, causing it to fall. He used the vehicle to pin the horse to the pavement, where it was then euthanized by another trooper, according to investigators.

The horse was on the shoulder of Route 1 in Lower Oxford Township and had already been hit by a driver before troopers were called to the scene.

Perillo faces two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, both third-degree felonies, and one count of cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor.

He was arraigned Friday at the Chester County Justice Center, and bail was set at $50,000 unsecured.

Perillo, who is assigned to Troop J, Avondale, enlisted in State Police in September 2006. He has been suspended without pay while the case against him proceeds.