A police officer who witnessed Sandra Bland's traffic stop said the Waller County district attorney would not let him testify before a grand jury about facts favorable to Bland, a community activist and former Waller County justice of the peace said Tuesday.
The officer - whose comments over the telephone with activist DeWayne Charleston were recorded said an official with the district attorney's office then threatened to retaliate against him if he went public with his story.
"This is what happens when you try to cross the thin blue line," Charleston said.
"He says Brian Encinia made sure he was not in ear shot of the car. He turned off his own microphone so no one would hear. And then he called his supervisor. He said, 'I have no idea what I'm going to arrest her for, but we'll figure it out when we get to the county jail,'" Charleston said Monday.
Kelley says on the recording he tried to share what he'd heard with an official at the district attorney's office.
"I wanted to testify on Sandra Bland's behalf and they told me if I said anything they're going to come after me," he said in the recording.
"He [Kelly] told me a lot of stuff," Charleston explained, "but the most important is this bit about him being on the scene and making a request to testify and being denied."
In addition, Kelly apparently told Charleston in the audio that a written statement he submitted to the Prairie View police chief never made it into the official DPS report about Bland's traffic stop for changing lanes without signaling.
Charleston said Kelley said on the recording that he offered to testify but that the Waller County District Attorney did not return his call.
Read more: Prairie View officer says DA wouldn't let him testify about Sandra Bland traffic stop
