The family of a black motorist found hanged in her Texas jail cell after being held in police custody following a traffic stop has reached a $1.9 million (about €1.7 million) settlement in a wrongful death suit against law enforcement, their lawyer said on Thursday.
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According to Simmons, the proposed settlement agreement does not involve admissions of wrongdoing.
Officials said the tentative settlement still requires the approval of state officials and Waller County commissioners.
Lambert says authorities also say they will solicit new state legislation to fund revised booking and intake training, which they say will be named for Bland if it is passed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety also released a statement that reads, “DPS has not settled litigation regarding Sandra Bland, and is not a party to any agreements between the plaintiffs and Waller County defendants”. Her death was ruled a suicide, and Bland’s family later sued Waller County and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
She was in Texas from her home in Naperville, Illinois to interview for a job at Prairie View A&M University.
But the defendants’ legal team said the settlement had not yet been finalised.
Bland, who was from the Chicago area, died in her cell days after she was pulled over by a white Texas state trooper for a minor traffic offense.
Lambert said changes coming to the jail include using automated electronic sensors to ensure cells are regularly checked, staffing the jail with a nurse or medical technician for all shifts and providing continuing education for jail workers.
The family filed their federal wrongful death lawsuit on August 4, 2015, and pushed the U.S. Department of Justice to consider their own investigation.
Her family insists she should never have been arrested in the first place.
“Those things, over and above the $1.9 million are historic”, Lambert said.
“I believe that this is going to spearhead other people saying no, you don’t get a chance to just give me a couple of dollars”, said Geneva Reed-Veal, about her quest to codify permanent change in the aftermath of her daughter’s death. Bland refused so Encinia resorted to physical force to pull her from her vehicle and place her under arrest.
Encinia was sacked in March 2016 and has been indicted for perjury.
As we’ve reported, “no one has been indicted on criminal charges of Bland’s death or for her arrest itself”.
In their lawsuit, Bland’s family contended jailers should have checked on her more frequently and that the county should have performed mental evaluations once she disclosed she had a history of attempting suicide.
Bland was taken into custody, charged with assaulting a public servant.
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It was shown that jail guards did not check on Bland in a timely fashion, which could have saved her life.
