A large projector to the right of McCaig’s bench displayed the small-town courthouse’s quaint yet direct rules: “Do not stick gum under the seats”. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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Encinia’s attorney said his client is appealing the firing to the Texas Public Safety Commission, a five-member oversight board that can set aside or affirm it following a public hearing.
She spoke following an arraignment for Brian Encinia on Tuesday, who pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge.
“This charge represents a fundamental misunderstanding of law enforcement procedure”, said Encinia’s defense attorney Chip Lewis. She can later be heard off-camera screaming that he’s about to break her wrists and complaining that he knocked her head into the ground. The grand jury did not indict anyone for Bland’s death.
A Waller County grand jury indicted Encinia in January on the perjury charge for saying in an affidavit that he removed a combative Bland from her vehicle after stopping her near Houston for a minor traffic violation so he could conduct a safer traffic investigation. “That’s where I’m staying”, said Geneva Veal-Reed, Bland’s mother. Smith appeared outside the courthouse after the hearing, looking every bit the small-town Texas sheriff in his starched white shirt, cowboy hat and blue jeans.
Protesters yelled “Tell the truth” and “Sandra still speaks” Tuesday outside the court building. Her hanging death in her jail cell three days later ignited a national firestorm. It’s a little bit of depression as well as PTSD. “I guess you have to be the one who lost the child to really know that was a slap in the face”. After a heated argument captured on dash camera video, the trooper arrested Bland, 28, for assaulting a public servant and took her to Waller County jail. Lancaster is from Austin, Texas, and recently moved to St. Louis where she teaches special education, kindergarten through second grade. “It seems unlikely with that level of passion, that suicide was first on her list”.
Sandra Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, flew in from Chicago for the arraignment. Reed-Veal sued Encinia for wrongful death on August 4, 2015.
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The Texas Department of Public Safety early this month formally fired Encinia over the stop. He can appeal the decision.Encinia met last month with DPS Director Steve McCraw, but their conversation gave the agency leader no reason to alter my preliminary decision, according to a termination letter signed by Encinia. Lancaster said Encinia can fight for his innocence in court, but his notoriety will follow him.
