Sandra Bland jail death: No Indictments, But “It’s Not Over”

“I sit here, and I tell you that we don’t have faith in a grand jury process, because there is no feeling that it would be impartial or unbiased based off of the secret nature of it”, said Bland’s sister, Sharon Cooper. But the news that grand jurors had decided not to return any indictments five months after the fact underscores just how hard it is to hold anyone accountable when encounters with the police turn deadly. Reports indicate that Bland was pulled over for switching lanes without activating her turning signal.

The stop quickly escalated into an argument over Bland’s cigarette that ended with Encinia pulling Bland out of the auto and arresting her-yet that flies in the face of a recent Supreme Court ruling that states that routine traffic stops can’t be extended unless there’s evidence that the driver has committed another crime, or there’s a safety issue in play.

Bland was handcuffed after the arrest and taken to county jail, where she died three days later.

Bland’s arrest and hanging, which her family insisted was not a suicide, became a lightning rod for race relations this summer.

“The family does not believe him or anything he says”, Cannon Lambert said.

“We would like very much to know what in the heck they’re doing, who they’re targeting and if it has anything to do with Sandy and her circumstances”, Mr. Lambert said. According to news affiliate KTRK, the jury met with 5 different special prosecutors and reached their decision Monday night.

Geneva Reed-Veal, the mother of Sandra Bland, speaks to the media outside the federal courthouse in Houston last week.

Looney also confirmed that “The only thing that was done yesterday is that the grand jury has declined to indict the sheriff or the sheriff’s staff”. He said lawyers haven’t been able to examine a Texas Rangers report on the incident because it’s grand jury evidence.

County officials have contended that she was treated well in jail.

In a highly anticipated decision earlier this week, the grand jury refused to issue any indictments related to the death of Sandra Bland.

“All charges are under consideration”, the prosecutor said.

The special prosecutor added, “The grand jury found no evidence of homicide”.

The grand jury will reconvene in January to consider other indictments.

An autopsy found that she died by asphyxiation and hanged herself with a plastic bag from a partition in her cell.

County officials have said Bland was treated well while locked up and produced documents that show she gave jail workers inconsistent information about whether she was suicidal. The trooper told Bland he would “light you up” with a Taser if she didn’t get out of the auto. He said he was disappointed, but not surprised, there would be no criminal charges in Bland’s death.

It also says she was treated with “courtesy and respect” and “was provided benefits and accommodations beyond what the law and County policies required”.