PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas - It was a startling video: a Prairie View police officer using a Taser on a city councilman back in 2015.
Now charges have been dropped against that former officer, and the now-former councilman is demanding answers.
Waller County was already in the world’s spotlight when video of the arrest went viral and sparked anger in October 2015, three months after the controversial arrest of Sandra Bland in the same town.
On Thursday, some residents said they believe the dismissal of the charges is another example of justice not being served.
Outside the building where he once served the residents of Prairie View, former councilman Jonathan Miller is now the one seeking answers from those in power after charges were dismissed Feb. 1 against former Officer Michael Kelley, the man responsible for the arrest that Miller said derailed his promising career.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” said Miller, now a high school teacher and coach in Houston. “Who is wrong in this situation? Who do you hold accountable? And until that question gets answered, I will not be silent.”
Officer Kelley and Officer Pennie Goodie were at Miller’s home in October 2015 questioning Miller’s fraternity brothers, who he says were outside practicing a step routine. The newly elected council member came out to ask what was going on.
“I’m very frequent with them at that point,” Miller said. “I sat on council when we approved their budget.”
Miller says soon after Officer Goodie explained the situation, Officer Kelley approached the scene and asked if Miller was part of the scene, to which Officer Goodie replied, "No."
Miller says he complied with Officer Kelley’s request to step away and moved toward the house, but then says Officer Kelley asked him to move to a different section of the property.
“I live here,” said Miller on Thursday. “I can go inside if there’s a problem, but I’m not gonna go stand in another section just because. I’m at my home. I haven’t done anything wrong, I’ve already been deemed as not being a part of the scene, and it wasn’t his scene at the time, either.”
Officer Kelley’s body camera video shows him telling Miller several times to move away, warning him he could go to jail, before telling him to turn around.
Body camera video from Officer Goodie then shows Miller on his knees with his hands by his side, and after several orders to put his hands behind his back, Officer Kelley shoots Miller with the Taser.
Miller spent the night in jail, and charges of resisting arrest and interfering with police duties were later dropped.
Kelley was indicted in January 2016 on a charge of official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor the Texas penal code says applies to a public servant who “intentionally subjects another to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, search, seizure, dispossession, assessment, or lien that he knows is unlawful.”
“I will tell you that I never thought the evidence was sufficient,” said Roger Bridgwater, Kelley’s attorney, who said his client was “elated” that the charges were dropped. “The (Prairie View police) chief was out there on the scene. He had discussed it with (Kelley), and it was clear what the reason for the arrest was.”
Miller says he’s talking with his attorney about next steps, while former Justice of the Peace Dewayne Charleston said during the press conference he wants to see Prairie View’s mayor and City Council approve a resolution condemning prosecutors for the dismissal at their next meeting.
KHOU 11 News also reached out to the special prosecutor in charge of the case, Matthew Banister of the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office, via e-mail and phone but had not heard back as of Thursday evening. A voicemail recording stated Banister was out of the office through the end of the week.