Texas Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland Faces Perjury Charge

Brian Encinia, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, was recently hit with two pieces of bad news. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has said Encinia violated internal policies of professionalism and courtesy during the traffic stop, which he made because Bland had made an improper lane change.

Authorities said Bland used a plastic garbage bag as a noose to hang herself from an overhead partition inside her cell. The same Waller County grand jury decided last month not to indict any sheriff’s officials or jailers in Bland’s death, which was ruled a suicide.

Mr McDonald said grand jurors found Mr Encinia’s statement that he had “removed her from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation” to be false. He also said it was the only charge that the grand jury would hand down.

Of course, none of that is consoluation to Sandra Bland’s family, nor should it be.

Back in IL, local residents have not forgotten Sandra Bland, who was known as a social justice activist. In the video, Encinia can be seen opening Bland’s driver’s side door and reaching in for her. She refuses to come out and the trooper then threatens to use a Taser on her.

Special prosecutor Darrell Jordan said the charge of perjury is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, The Houston Chronicle reported.

A bystander also recorded video of the arrest, with Bland on the ground.

Video of the stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, “I will light you up!”.

Special prosecutors were not immediately available for comment on the proceedings, which were held behind closed doors. Bland was taken to the Waller County Jail that day and was found dead in her cell on July 13. But like many Black families, Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland’s mother, has taken her fight to the civil courts.

In December, the grand jury declined to issue any indictments for Bland’s death. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.

“While our organization would have preferred an assault charge to have been brought up, it is our ultimate hope that this indictment will spark a shift in how law enforcement agencies across the nation hold their officers accountable for misbehavior in the line of duty”.

“Our family’s grieving process is at a standstill”, she said.