Ms Bland died by asphyxiation after using a plastic bag to hang herself in her cell, authorities said.
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Her family’s attorney tells CNN the settlement, which was finalized Wednesday night, also includes changes to jail procedures in Waller County, Teas.
Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said those requirements beyond the monetary settlement are what really mattered to her. According to ABC 13 Eyewitness News, the Waller County jail, where Bland was found dead, will be paying the bulk of the $1.9 million settlement.
Dash-cam video of the traffic stop showed Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia pulling his stun gun out on Bland.
Bland died a year ago in police custody at Waller County Jail in Texas after being arrested during a traffic stop.
While her family maintains she was in no way suicidal at the time of her death, at her booking, Bland is on tape telling jail officials that she has previously attempted to commit suicide. She eventually got out of the vehicle, and the two moved out of the view of the camera, but Bland could be heard accusing Encinia of kicking her. Reed-Veal has been traveling across the country to bring attention to police brutality against blacks since her daughter’s death. It is worth noting that $1.8 million is a lot of money for a small Texas county to fork over.
Bland, 28, was a Chicago-native area who had graduated from Prairie View, a predominately black school about 45 miles northwest of Houston, and was returning there for a job. Any legislation that might pass will be named in Bland’s honor. The grand jury ultimately declined to indict anyone in Bland’s death.
January 6: Waller County grand jury indicts Encinia on perjury count, a misdemeanor, for allegedly lying about how he removed Bland from her vehicle during the stop.
The family said Bland should not have been arrested and that she was later held in risky conditions without proper supervision.
Bland was detained after a minor traffic violation when the arresting officer failed to follow proper traffic stop procedures.
“Bland began swinging her elbows at me and then kicked my right leg in the shin”, Encinia said in the statement.
March 22: Encina pleads not guilty to the misdemeanor perjury charge.
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The lawsuit said that jail personnel put her in a cell with “a variety of inappropriate items for a jail cell, including a large garbage can, garbage bags, exposed beams, cords, and other items”.
