NEW YORK (AP) – A police horse died when it became startled at Coney Island, ran away from its officer and crashed into the boardwalk.

Officer Mattius Sobato was adjusting the saddle of the horse, named Sledge, around 9 p.m. Saturday when the saddle fell under the horse, frightening him, police said.

Sledge galloped away and smashed his head into the boardwalk.

The traumatized officer was taken to a hospital.

Sledge was named after a Brooklyn police officer, Cecil Sledge, who died Jan. 28, 1980, when he was shot and run over by a fleeing robbery suspect, the New York Post reported Monday.

Police horses are common during the summer in Coney Island, where they are used by officers patrolling the crowded beach, streets and boardwalk.