Choking charge dropped against East Hampton trustee Nathaniel Miller

The Suffolk County district attorney’s office has dropped a charge against an East Hampton Town elected official accused of choking a town employee during an argument.

Prosecutors dismissed a misdemeanor charge against Nathaniel Miller, an East Hampton Town trustee, during an appearance Thursday before Justice Lisa Rana in East Hampton Justice Court, a defense attorney said.

Miller’s attorney, Daniel Rodgers of Southampton, said prosecutors learned they “were not going to have a willing complainant in this case, and therefore they had no basis to proceed on.”

The victim “was not interested in proceeding,” said Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota. “His willingness to cooperate with our efforts to move forward with the prosecution is essential,” Clifford said.

Miller, who also works as a bayman, was arrested in July and accused of holding the victim, who works in a town garage, in a headlock. Miller faced a misdemeanor charge of obstructing the breathing of another person and faced a year in jail.

The argument was over an incident four years ago in which the victim set fire to a boat owned by a friend of Miller, Rodgers has said.

“Mr. Miller is sorry for what happened,” Rodgers said Friday. “His statement to me yesterday was, ‘I’m only human.’ It’s not like he’s doing a victory dance here. … Justice was definitely served.”

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