The Latest on jail death: Family seeking more information

Bland’s death has sparked a conversation among lawmakers in Texas and elsewhere about jail standards and how authorities deal with potentially mentally ill or suicidal inmates.

County and state officials have released findings of an autopsy, surveillance video showing Bland being booked into the jail, her jail intake records and other material.

“Waller County Jail personnel… were willful, wanton, and reckless in exhibiting a conscious disregard for the safety of Sandra Bland in failing to keep her in a safe and suitable environment where she could be kept free from injury, harm, and death”, it said. Yet in the days after authorities released the dash-cam footage of Bland’s arrest, daily newspapers across the state assured us the lesson here was to “obey police instruction”. They also say state and county officials have withheld information from them. Bland eventually was arrested for allegedly assaulting the trooper.

The family and their attorney plan to talk to the media after the lawsuit is filed. “We’ve asked for it in writing, but we’re not getting it”, said the mother.

Countless rallies have been held calling for justice and answers in Bland’s death.

Lawyers representing the family of Sandra Bland – a black woman who died in police custody last month after a seemingly routine traffic stop – will file a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the arresting officer and others connected to the case, according to local news reports. “This family is entitled to know, really, when did she pass, really, what was done in an effort to try to help her”. Her family has disputed the findings, but acknowledged on Tuesday the possibility she killed herself. The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office also confirmed through an autopsy that Bland had hung herself with a plastic bag.

Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland speaks at a news conference Tuesday, August 4, 2015, in Houston.

Encinia said in an affidavit that after handcuffing her for becoming combative, she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin. Days later, Bland was found dead in a jail cell in Hempstead. The stop grows confrontational and trooper Brian Encinia orders her from the vehicle before forcing her to the ground and taking her into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant.

It names the Texas Department of Public Safety, Waller County, the sheriff’s office, two jailers, and the trooper Brian Encinia.

“This family has been searching for answers for three weeks now”.

“We are looking for Waller County and the individuals involved in this situation to take accountability”, said Bland family attorney Cannon Lambert. “The fact that it hasn’t happened yet is a frustrating thing”.