Over a year after the suspicious death of Sandra Bland in Waller County, Texas, her family has been awarded with $1.9 million in their wrongful death lawsuit. Waller County, where Bland was detained, will use automated electronic sensors to ensure accurate, timely cell checks which can not be falsified, according the agreement.
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Forsensic investigators determined that Bland had committed suicide while being held in a jail cell in July 2015.
Encinia was indicted by a grand jury for lying about the circumstances of Bland’s arrest, a misdemeanor perjury charge, and was sacked by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The Texas Department of Public Safety faulted Encinia for his conduct during the stop and subsequently fired him.
The agreement would cost the county “a modest $1,000 deductible” under its liability insurance, he said. In the arrest warrant, Encinia wrote that Bland was behaving violently and he had been forced to subdue her with force.
Bland was arrested during a traffic stop that turned confrontational. Encinia ordered Bland from the vehicle, threatened her with a stun gun and arrested her.
Bland, 28, was found dead in her jail cell on July 13, 2015.
Encinia said he then used force “to subdue Bland to the ground”, and she continued to fight back, the affidavit said.
A medical examiner had ruled Bland’s death a suicide, but Reed-Veal filed a federal lawsuit in August 2015, questioning the events surrounding the arrest and her daughter’s death.
The family lawyer said that under the settlement the county jail will step up staff training and inmate monitoring.
Attorney Cannon Lambert told the outlet that the settlement includes compensation for Bland’s death. As The Two-Way has reported, Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, told reporters that “the bottom line is: She never should have been inside of the jail, period”.
“The parties also agreed in writing that the potential settlement was to remain confidential until finalized, after which time it would be public record”, Larry Simmons, an attorney representing Waller County, said in the statement.
What’s more, the settlement stipulates a series of procedure changes at the Texas jail where Bland died, including an around-the-clock nurse, according to these reports. Any laws passed would be named after Sandra Bland.
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Finally, state representatives will also be asked to work together to draft legislation in Bland’s name to require similar changes in other rural jails. The findings also show she had marijuana in her system and that about 30 cuts along Bland’s wrist were likely self-inflicted some weeks before her arrest.
