Grand jury no bills DPS trooper indicted after chase

HOUSTON

DPS Trooper Andrew Papanos had been indicted on a charge of aggravated assault by a peace officer in connection to the alleged beating of 58-year-old Ricki Kelley.

In November, Kelley allegedly led officers on a high-speed chase that stretched from Patton Village to near Rosenberg and had fired shots at the officers during the pursuit. When spike strips finally disabled Kelley's car, he exited with a shotgun in hand.

What happened next was never revealed to the media, but Kelley was injured enough that he was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital.

A dash-cam in a patrol car caught the confrontation on tape, which led to the Papanos' indictment.

Attorneys, however, claimed the DPS trooper did what he had to do to get control of the situation. On Thursday, grand jurors reviewed the evidence in the case and decided to drop the charge against Papanos.