Indicted trooper surrenders in Sandra Bland death case

The mother of a woman found dead in a Texas jail a year ago said Thursday that a perjury charge against a state trooper who arrested her daughter is “not justice”.

In the audio from a dashcam recording of the arrest, Encinia can be heard telling Bland, “Get out or I will remove you”.

Brian Encinia, was booked around 3:30 p.m. on the misdemeanor charge and released on $2,500 bond, the Waller County Sheriff said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is looking to fire Encinia, the Waller County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Wednesday.

Previously, state regulators had found that the Waller County Jail was in violation of minimum standards, and faulted the jail for not putting Bland on a stricter observation watch and missing warning signs that she was a potential risk for suicide.

Bland was found hanged in her Waller County Jail cell three days later, and her death has been ruled a suicide.

The same grand jury that indicted him declined last month to indict sheriff’s officials or jailers.

The perjury charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, according to ABC News. She told Encinia that she was changing lanes in order to get out of his way. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

“They feel toyed with”, Lambert said. “If you don’t have public accountability, you don’t have public trust”. Geneva told reporters in Chicago that she has no confidence in the investigation and the justice process.

About two dozen protesters attended Wednesday’s press conference where the indictment was announced.

She added that the perjury charge against him was long overdue and could never make up for her family’s devastating loss. The wrongful death case, filed in federal court in Houston, is set for trial in early 2017.

Bland was moving from the Chicago area to Texas, having just interviewed for and accepted a job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, when she was pulled over by Encinia, who claimed she was “uncooperative and combative” after he ordered her out of her auto.

Video of the arrest shows Mr Encinia drawing his Taser stun gun and threatening to “light up” Ms Bland. The confrontation continues off-camera but is still audible. But Reed-Veal said she anxious prosecution would not be “handled the right way”. Dashboard camera footage showed an altercation between the two after the trooper had asked Bland to put out her cigarette and exit the vehicle.

One of Bland’s sisters, Sharon Cooper, said that for the family, fighting for information while also privately mourning has been hard.