Dashcam footage was released on 12 October showing the Tasing of a Texas councilman in Prairie View, the city where a black woman died in custody in July, in a case that raised questions about racial bias in policing.
Footage released earlier showed the incident shot from the body camera of the officer who Tased Councilman Jonathan Miller. In the dashcam footage, the officer, whose name has not been released, can be seen telling Miller to step backwards and then tackling him to the ground before Tasing him. A Texas district attorney said his office was investigating the use of the Taser by the white officer on Miller, who is black.
One of the officers involved in the incident was also present during the arrest of Sandra Bland, who was found hanged in her cell on 13 July, three days after she was taken into custody following a minor traffic infraction in Waller County, about 50 miles northwest of Houston.
In cell phone footage as well as the body and dashcam video, officers responding to a disturbance on 8 October are seen asking Miller numerous times to place his hands behind his back. A Taser is then used on Miller, who is on his knees, and he falls face first to the ground.
Prairie View police said last week that Miller was interfering with an investigation and refused commands to stop. Miller has said he did not do anything wrong and believes police overstepped their bounds. The incident occurred outside of Millers home. Police were questioning friends of Miller, when he came out to see what was going on.
Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old African-American, was pulled over in her car on 10 July by a white state trooper, Brian Encinia, for failing to signal a lane change in Prairie View. A confrontation followed between her and the trooper, leading to her arrest. The discovery of Blands body in her cell three days later with a trash bag around her neck in an apparent hanging provoked suspicions of racist treatment.
