Officer indicted for using Taser on Prairie View city councilman

Witness video showed the moment Prairie View city councilman was tased in the back while kneeling after he refused officers' repeated commands. Witness video showed the moment Prairie View city councilman was tased in the back while kneeling after he refused officers' repeated commands. Photo: PVPD Photo: PVPD Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Officer indicted for using Taser on Prairie View city councilman 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

A Prairie View police officer who used a stun gun on a city councilman last fall has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge of official oppression, according to authorities.

Noah Johnson, an assistant criminal district attorney with the Waller County District Attorney's Office, said Monday that Prairie View Police Officer Michael Kelley had been indicted Friday on the charge of official oppression after tasing and arresting Prairie View City Councilman Jonathan Miller in October.

"The reason the grand jury indicted Officer Kelley was because the arrest he made was unlawful and Officer Kelley knew it was unlawful at the time he made it," Johnson said, adding that the DA's office on Monday had dropped charges against Miller.

The indictment marks the second time in the last month that a law enforcement officer has been criminally charged in Waller County related to their actions on the job.

Earlier in January, a grand jury indicted Brian Encinia, the Department of Public Safety Trooper who arrested Sandra Bland in July, during a traffic stop near Prairie View A&M University. Encinia, 31, was indicted on perjury charges. Three days after Encinia arrested Bland, she was found dead in her jail cell. The death was ruled a suicide but sparked widespread criticism and scrutiny of the trooper who arrested her and the Waller County Sheriff's Office.

If convicted, Kelley, who has been with the department for about 18 months, could serve up to a year in jail and have to pay a $4,000 fine.

"We're shocked," said Roger Bridgwater, Kelley's lawyer. "Any law enforcement that sees it knows that his actions and conduct are within bounds."

Bridgwater said that Kelley's superiors authorized the arrest and that Kelley would be pleading "not guilty." A call to the Prairie View Police department was not answered Monday afternoon.

THE BACKGROUND: Video shows police using Taser on kneeling Prairie View city councilman

Kelley couldn't immediately be reached for comment. State records show that previous to joining the Prairie View Police Department, he spent a year and five months as a reserve deputy with the Waller County Precinct 3 Constable's office. Prior to that, he served nearly three years as a deputy in the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, and three years as a peace officer with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. He also served as a jailer in the Texas Department of Corrections, Bridgwater said.

In October, video captured Miller declining officers' repeated orders to leave an area in front of his apartment, and later to put his hands behind his back.

Within minutes, Miller, the youngest member of the Prairie View City Council and a graduate of Prairie View A&M University, was stunned in the back with a Taser while kneeling, and arrested on charges of resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.

Previously, Prairie View police said the incident occurred after spotting several people in a car parked in an area known for drug activities. The officer ordered the men out of the car and ran their IDs. They were friends of Miller, who lived on that block, gathered to practice a dance routine for a homecoming event, and were in the vehicle to change clothes, Johnson said.

Miller told police the individuals were his friends and in the area at his invitation.

SANDRA BLAND CASE: Indicted trooper describes Sandra Bland traffic stop