“The bottom line is that she never should shave been inside the jail, period”, she said.
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– July 31: Department of Public Safety personnel records show Encinia was once cautioned about “unprofessional conduct” in a 2014 incident while he was still a probationary trooper.
“We have stood in awe of her in the manner in which she stood up for herself at a time when other people would have not said anything”, she added.
The official autopsy says it was most likely suicide, but Bland’s own family has some serious doubts.
The family’s attorney, Cannon Lambert, said during a press conference that the family doesn’t “want to see this sort of thing happen again to another family”. Bland’s family, and a growing group of activists, have been skeptical that her death was a suicide. We don’t have the ligature.
“We are three weeks out from Sandra’s death, we are a week out from burying her, and we still don’t know what happened to her”, said Bland’s sister. “We don’t get the full toxicology report”. The stop grows confrontational and trooper Brian Encinia orders her from the auto before forcing her to the ground and taking her into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant.
Bland’s death came after almost a year of heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially those who have been killed by officers or die in police custody.
However, many of Bland’s family members, along with friends and worldwide supporters who are suspicious of the authorities’ explanation, have continued to call for officials to accept a few measure of responsibility for the death.
The discovery of Bland’s body in her cell three days later with a trash bag around her neck in an apparent hanging provoked suspicions of racist treatment.
Sandra Bland’s family filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, jail officials and the state Department of Public Safety on Tuesday to seek answers and accountability for her death in a Waller County, Texas, jail cell last month.
“This family needs an answer to the principle question of what happened to Sandra Bland”.
An effort by Bland’s family to pursue an independent medical examination has been hindered by authorities in Waller County, where Bland was arrested, he said.
The lawsuit says Encinia “intentionally, willfully, wantonly, and unreasonably deprived Sandra Bland of her rights, privileges and immunities secured by the U.S. Constitution”. The 28-year-old was later found dead in a jail cell in Hempstead on July 13.
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Mr Encinia is on administrative leave after a preliminary investigation accused him of breaking traffic stop and courtesy protocols when he pulled over Ms Bland.
