Charges dropped against Bills DT Ed Oliver, former UH All-American

HOUSTON - The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has dropped all charges against Buffalo Bills star defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the former University of Houston All-American, stemming from his arrest on May 16.

Oliver had been charged with DWI and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

“The charges against Ed Oliver were dismissed by the district attorney in Montgomery County (because of) the lack of evidence,” said Gary Patterson, Oliver’s attorney. “The blood (test) results came back and they were totally negative.

“He had no drugs at all in his system. So everybody knows, it’s not the attorney that’s getting him off. They had no evidence.”

Patterson points out the dismissal of the DWI led to the weapons charge being dropped as well.

“The weapons charge is dismissed because it’s not against the law (in Texas) to have a weapon in your vehicle,” Patterson said. “You can have a weapon in your glove box.

“It only becomes against the law if there’s some kind of DWI, some kind of drug-possession case or some other kind of criminal act. Then having possession of a firearm then becomes illegal. So since the DWI case was dismissed, then the weapons charge is automatically dismissed.”

Oliver was not exactly celebrating when asked for his feelings about both charges being dismissed.

“I feel the same way like if the charges were kept because I feel like I was charged unjust anyway,” Oliver said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. “I just basically had to go three months of my life feeling violated.

“I just had to do what I had to do and wait for it to come out that I was innocent. I already knew that.”

Oliver was asked if he feels vindicated.

“No, violated,” Oliver said. “You don’t play with people’s lives like that. You don’t play with people’s livelihood like that.

“I feel like you can’t arrest people for no reason. I feel like they tried to blast my name because I’m a player in the NFL. They should have known I was not intoxicated after I blew triple-zeroes into the breathalyzer test. I feel like I should have never been taken to jail. I should never have had to call my momma from jail and have to hear her cry through the phone.”

Oliver said he will never forget what happened to him on May 16 in Montgomery County.

“Basically, my life changed within a three-hour span,” Oliver said. “Now I can never say that I haven’t been in jail before. You took that away from me.

“My kids are gonna have to see images of me going to jail. I was doing good for myself. I feel like as a Black man, I hadn’t been to jail. Never got in trouble.”

The Buffalo Bills issued the following statement:

“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. We appreciate Ed’s honesty and his communication with us. With his name cleared of all charges, he can now turn his full attention on the upcoming training camp and season.”