Trooper in Sandra Bland arrest had been disciplined

The I-Team had requested personnel records for the trooper in the Sandra Bland traffic stop, the incident that resulted in her arrest and jailing.

The file reveals that in an evaluation last fall, his supervisor wrote that Encinia was “given a written counseling for unprofessional conduct … for an incident occurring while at a school in Austin”.

No other details about the disciplinary action were provided in the almost 80 pages of Encinia’s file that were released to The Texas Tribune and other media outlets.

The 28-year-old Bland was found hanging, dead in her Waller County jail cell three days after being taken into custody following a traffic stop made by Encinia about 200 miles outside of Dallas on July 13. Texas Department of Public Safety/REUTERS Trooper Encinia, who yells at Sandra Bland in the video and threatens her with his Taser, mostly received raves from his bosses, save a complaint over unprofessional behavior. He was told to conduct himself at all times in “a matter that will reflect well upon himself, the department (DPS) and the state of Texas”. But at a Texas State House hearing yesterday, her death was put squarely at the feet of Trooper Encinia.

Texas officials said Bland used a trash bag to hang herself, and an autopsy classified her death as a suicide.

The file did not contain information about the trooper’s interaction with Bland, which is still being investigated.

Bland’s case follows the death of several black men in encounters with white police officers that have led to increased accusations of brutality against minorities. In addition, dashcam video shows the confrontation between him and Bland quickly escalating out of control.

Encinia had been with the department for a little more than one year, and received “competent” ratings in his employee evaluations, the report said.

“Trooper Encinia exhibits courage and appears to operate effectively under stress”, Encinia’s evaluation in December stated.

Before applying for trooper training, Encinia was a volunteer firefighter in Brenham, where he was a supervisor at Blue Bell Creameries.

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