Gerald Hanks
The Texas State Trooper who stopped Sandra Bland in 2015 learned this week that his charge of misdemeanor perjury in the case would be dismissed. Brian Encinia, the trooper who arrested Sandra Bland for a traffic stop in Waller County, has his charge dismissed by State District Judge Albert McCaig Jr., as part of a plea deal. The deal requires that Encinia never again seek to become a law enforcement officer in Texas.
Videos by Rare
The charges stemmed from a traffic stop Trooper Encinia made in July 2015. He reportedly stopped Ms. Bland for failing to signal a lane change. The confrontation between the driver and the trooper escalated. According to the dashcam footage, Trooper Encinia held Ms. Bland on the ground and threatened her with a taser. He arrested her and took her to the Waller County Jail, where she was found dead in her cell three days later. The coroner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
RELATED: Sandra Bland’s family sues state trooper, wants answers
Encinia was indicted on charges of making a false statement under oath in January 2016. The grand jury that issued the indictment found that Encinia had “removed Sandra Bland from her vehicle because he was angry she would not put out her cigarette.” If Encinia had been convicted on the perjury charge, he could have faced up to a year in jail.
Sandra Bland’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Encinia, Waller County, and the State of Texas. In September 2016, the parties agreed to a $1.9 million settlement. Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the “Sandra Bland Act,” which called for de-escalation training for law enforcement officers and improved protections in rural jails.
RELATED: Dramatic dashcam video shows arrest of Sandra Bland before her jail death
Family members and activists expressed their disappointment in the decision to dismiss the charges against Encinia. Shante Needham, Bland’s eldest sister, said that the dismissal “just adds more insult to an already open wound.” State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, who authored the bill that became the Sandra Bland Act, said that the decision was “upsetting” and that he was “sorry to Ms. Bland’s family for how poorly Texas has treated their loved one.”
