The family of Sandra Bland has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a federal wrongful death suit with Texas authorities after her 2015 death in police custody.
Bland was pulled over by state trooper Brian Encinia in July 2015 for failure to signal. During the traffic stop, Encinia said the 28-year-old failed to comply with an order to put out a cigarette and subsequently refused to step out of the car. After a struggle ensued, Bland was taken into custody and found hanging inside a cell three days later.
Dashcam video provides clearer insight into what happened during the stop.
The events afterward remain a mystery. Bland’s death was ruled a suicide, but her family pressed for a deeper investigation, insisting she would never take her own life.
Since Bland’s story became national news, a debate stirred about what exactly happened the day she died. Earlier this year, a former guard admitted to falsifying records stating that he looked in on Bland an hour before her death was discovered. By his own admission, he never checked on her.
Under conditions of the settlement, the Waller County jail will now have both an on-duty nurse and emergency medical technician in place for all shifts. The judge in the case hopes to pursue legislation ultimately funding jail improvements like automated electronic sensors for cell checks and enhanced training for jailers all to be named in Bland’s honor.
No criminal charges were ever filed in Bland’s death. Trooper Encinia was formally fired and indicted on perjury after a grand jury cast doubt on his statement about removing Bland from her car to conduct a safer traffic stop.
