KELLER, Texas — Editor's note: The above video is from Jan. 5, 2021.
The Keller officer who pepper-sprayed and arrested a North Texas man who was filming his son's arrest was indicted Friday by a Tarrant County Grand Jury.
Former Keller Police Sgt. Blake Shimanek was indicted on a charge of official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of $4,000 and jail time of up to one year.
In August 2020, Dillon Puente, 22, was on his way to his grandmother’s house, when he was stopped by police in the Riverdance neighborhood.
His dad, Marco Puente, was following Dillon to his grandma’s house, and he stopped his vehicle after he saw his son was pulled and began filming the encounter.
Bodycam video shows Shimanek threaten Marco Puente with arrest if he continued to remain in the roadway with his truck.
After obeying the order to move his vehicle, Marco started recording his son’s arrest on his cellphone, while he was waiting on the sidewalk across the street from the scene.
Bodycam video shows Shimanek ask Dillon to get out of the car before he places him in handcuffs. In a police report obtained by WFAA, Shimanek said he detained Dillon because he was worried about his safety.
Bodycam video then shows Shimanek ordering Officer Ankit Tomer to arrest Marco, too. Then Shimanek took Marco to the ground, trying to arrest him and spraying him in the face with pepper spray.
“The officer didn’t like me being there recording anything,” Marco previously told WFAA.
“They tried to take me down and pepper spray me, and it was a fiasco.”
Dillon Puente ultimately paid a fine for his wide turn. Puente sued Shimanek and the other officer, Tomer, for inappropriate use of force.
The videos sparked national outrage and Keller Police Chief Brad Fortune apologized to the Puente family at a city council meeting at the beginning of the year.
Fortune also said that he personally apologized to Marco Puente and made sure that any money connected to their bail was refunded.
Shimanek was initially demoted by two ranks and taken off patrol, due to safety concerns. Shimanek resigned from the Keller Police Department earlier this year. His last day there was Feb. 1, 2021.
The other officer, Ankit Tomer, was not disciplined because the facts didn't warrant any discipline, Fortune added in his presentation.