No indictment in Sandra Bland’s jailhouse death

The decision not to bring any charges relating to Bland’s death likely comes as a blow to the woman’s family members, who have maintained that she was excited about starting a new job and wouldn’t have taken her own life. The coroner ruled the death a suicide and last night a grand jury that had convened in Waller County, Texas, decided not to issue any indictments related to her death. As with the case of Freddie Gray, it is easy to see where things went wrong – where overly aggressive law enforcement escalated a situation with tragic consequences – but much harder to discern whether someone broke the law. A grand jury can still indict Encinia for inciting the traffic stop that led to Bland’s arrest and, ultimately, her death. The grand jury will reconvene in January to hear more evidence and discuss whether Encinia should face charges, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago-area woman was pulled over on July 10th by a Texas state trooper for making an improper lane change.

Dash cam footage of Bland’s arrest shows trooper Encinia threatening to use a taser on the 28-year old woman for refusing to step out of her vehicle.

Bland died three days later at the Waller County jail after she was unable to raise $500 bond. Three days later, she was found hanging in her cell. The official story is that she allegedly used a plastic bag to hang herself. Her family also said she was not suicidal, the county argues. “We are unfortunately disappointed by the fact that our suspicions regarding this sham of a process have come to fruition”, he said.

Among evidence presented in the secret grand jury proceedings were the findings of a Texas Rangers’ investigation.

To dispel rumors that she was dead when she arrived at jail, county authorities released video in July showing her walking into the facility unaided.

Despite Monday’s decision, Special Prosecutor Darrell Jordan said the case is not resolved and that jurors would meet again next month to determine other aspects of the case.

“There’s nothing in there that shows anything happened but she killed herself”, Mathis had said.

Ms Bland’s sister Shante Needham has said Sandra had called her from jail, saying she did not know why she had been arrested and that an officer had possibly broken her arm. He said he expects to ask a federal judge to compel Texas authorities to turn over the document. Indicting an officer is generally a rare act, but Bowling Green State University professor Philip Stinson, who receives federal funding to track police violence and arrests, told the Des Moines Register a year ago that there is no government or scholarly database that tracks the outcome of grand jury proceedings involving officers.