A Harris County grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against two former sheriff’s deputies over a 2015 roadside search that drew national attention.
According to local reports, the search happened during a traffic stop in Texas on the night of June 21, 2015. Deputies pulled over Charneisha, then 21, and said they suspected marijuana in her car. Charneisha says she was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car while the vehicle was searched. When nothing was found, a female deputy was called to search her. Charneisha and her attorney, Sam Cammack, say the search was invasive and went on for at least 11 minutes in a public parking lot. Cammack argued it amounted to sexual assault by police.
Deputies William Strong and Ronaldine Pierre had been indicted on charges of official oppression, and trial was set for early August. On the day it was to begin, prosecutors with District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office dropped the case so they could present the evidence to a different grand jury. That grand jury decided there were not enough grounds for charges.
A prosecutor from the DA’s office said new and significant evidence led to the second presentation. Cammack disputes that there was any new evidence. He says he plans to release the full dash cam video and believes the public will be outraged when they see it. He also said all criminal charges against Charneisha were dropped.
Charneisha has filed a $15 million lawsuit. Strong and Pierre have been placed on desk duty while their careers remain under review. Assistant DA Natasha Sinclair said no one in the office stands by how the search was conducted, but that bad judgment does not always rise to the level of a crime.
