The Montgomery County, Texas, district attorney has dismissed the charges against Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver stemming from his May 16 arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Oliver was pulled over on State Highway 242, and according to police, he had an open beer between his legs and failed a sobriety test. The officer who administered the test noted that Oliver might have been under the influence of something other than alcohol.
No drugs were found in Oliver's vehicle, but police discovered a pistol and charged him with unlawfully carrying a weapon.
Oliver's blood tests came back "totally negative," according to his attorney, Gary Patterson of Houston. Because of those results, Patterson said, the DWI charge was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
The weapon charge was automatically dismissed because having a pistol in a vehicle is illegal in Texas only if the driver is intoxicated or is charged with another criminal act, Patterson said. Without the DWI charge, Oliver's possession of a pistol was lawful.
No further prosecution is expected, Kelly Blackburn, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office, said Wednesday.
"It begs the question as to why he was arrested in the first place," Patterson said in an email to The Associated Press.
The Bills posted a statement on social media, saying that Oliver "can now turn his full attention on the upcoming training camp and season."
"We are pleased with the ruling today regarding Ed Oliver. We supported and worked with Ed throughout the offseason program as it was a priority for us to allow the legal process to play out," the team said. "We appreciate Ed's honesty and communication with us."
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) July 22, 2020
Oliver tweeted a link to a story about his arrest Wednesday and said: "Now y'all go back and read this article knowing that all my blood work came back clean!!!but I had a beer can between my legs get the f--- out of here how does a 5'8 officer [see] inside a window above his head anyway. ... how do 5 cop cars show up before I take a sobriety test huh."
The Bills selected the former University of Houston player with the ninth overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. Oliver established himself as one of Buffalo's key defensive players, recording 43 tackles and five sacks as a rookie.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.