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Police officer in Sandra Bland case tasered councilman

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Prairie View, Texas, councilman Jonathan Miller via KPCR

The question has to be asked, does it mean anything  that a councilman was Tasered Thursday in an incident involving the same deputy who arrested Sandra Bland? Sandra Bland  died in jail days after being pulled over for failing to signal a lane change.

The councilman, Jonathan Miller, was stunned Thursday night in front of his Prairie View, Texas, house, and arrested. The incident was caught on video.

Prairie View police said four men were being questioned about drug activity in the area when Miller, 26, interfered with the investigation. Many of the men being questioned were guests at the councilman’s  home.

“Officer, please do not put your hands on me!” Miller, 26, begs at one point in the video. “I live here.”

A male and a female officer tell him repeatedly to put his hands behind his back. When he refuses, they Taser him, causing the councilman to cry out in pain and curse as he falls to the ground.

“Oh yeah, he’s going to jail for resisting,” an officer says.

Miller was charged with interference and resisting arrest and booked at the Waller County jail. He got out on bond Friday morning.

The public has to ask when is it interference when the police are asked by concerned citizens about what appears to be mishandling of the subjects they are questioning. In particular when the individual intervening is a respectable elected official familiar with the law as was the councilman.

The female officer was involved in the July arrest of Bland, the Black woman who died in her jail cell three days after she got pulled over, police said. Miller is also Black.

“We have six police officers. The probability of having the same officer involved in multiple types of incidences is probable,” Prairie View Chief of Police Larry Johnson said. “I haven’t seen anything that gave me any cause for concern as far as this officers conduct at this point.”

Unfortunately, the response of the arresting officers at the incident demonstrate the abuse of power, the misplaced authority while the Prairie View Police Chief seemed to have rigid attitude. Rather than saying that it’s something that they would look into Chief Police office Larry Johnson felt inclined to say that the he had not seen any thing that gave cause for concern.  Good police should look at all things associated with the possibility of wrong doing even if it doesn’t look suspicious.

According to this same police department  of Waller County, Texas, Sandra Bland’s  death was a suicide and yet there are numerous unanswered questions around her death. Consequently the family has filed a federal lawsuit. They want the  Department of Justice to investigate Bland’s death as they said the case requires a fresh set of eyes.


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