MIDLAND, Texas — Following the viral arrest of Tye Anders, the City of Midland held a community discussion Thursday at the MLK Community Center.
Councilman John Norman, who pushed for the release of the body cam footage of the incident, says it is time for Midland to discuss the elephant in the room no matter how hard that might be.
The discussion led to some tense moments. At the very end of the meeting, a man caused a commotion demanding that Tye Anders be cleared of all charges which led to the room having to be cleared.
The discussion was open to the public and ran from 6 to 8 p.m. It was intended to be an opportunity for everyone to come together and allow voices to be heard.
"For so long we felt like that we haven’t been heard and I think this community conversation give us this platform to do so and I also wanna add that you know it’s not the only one we’re gonna do," Norman said.
Norman believes both the arrest and the video can be a learning opportunity for everyone.
"I think once people see that you know we all can come together cordially, you know it might be some weeping, it might be some some real thoughts put out there, and we have to be ready for that and be prepared that these are gonna be real situations and stories that people have that need to be heard," Norman said.
Anders' attorney Justin Moore said in a press release that neither of them would be attending.
"[A]ny action towards having a discussion about what happened to Tye Anders without dismissing his felony charges is dishonest and is in bad faith," Moore said.
District Attorney Laura Nodolf previously said after reviewing the footage "There were no actions taken by any member of the Midland Police Department that would cause me any concern with moving forward with the case."
The meeting was livestreamed on NewsWest 9's YouTube and is available to be viewed now.
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