A Garner police officer remains at Rex Hospital Monday after sustaining an injury while working the Homecoming game against the University of Virginia Saturday.

Officer John Taylor of Garner Police was working in conjunction with Campus Police’s mounted patrol, according to Capt. Jon Barnwell of Campus Police.

Sgt. Joe Bianns of Garner Police said the mutual agreement between Campus Police and Taylor put the case in Campus Police’s jurisdiction.

“He was doing a mutual aid agreement with the N.C. State Police Department,” he said. “We’re letting the investigation go through N.C. State because he was working for them at the time.”

According to Bianns, Taylor was running his horse near Trinity Road around 6:15 p.m. Saturday when the horse ran under a guide wire.

When Taylor put his hand out to protect himself, “his hand got trapped in between the wire,” Bianns said.

Barnwell said the force of the blow knocked Taylor off his horse.

“The Garner officer that was working mutual aid with us was involved in an incident involving a guide wire and a telephone pole that knocked him off his horse,” he said.

According to Barnwell, Taylor and the other mounted patrol officers were allowing the horses to take a break and run, not trying to race them, as some allegations have suggested.

“They weren’t racing,” he said. “The mounted patrol was actually running some nervous energy out of the horses before they got back in the crowd.”

Bianns said he did not know exactly what transpired before the incident.

“I can’t speculate as to what they were doing,” he said. “Sometimes they let the horses run after walking them around in the crowds.”

Taylor sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Rex Hospital, Barnwell said.

Bianns said the officer had surgery on his injured hand Saturday evening and remains at Rex Hospital Monday.

“We’re kind of sitting and waiting and seeing … whether he will need more surgery,” Bianns said.