“People’s Sheriff” David Clarkewill walk through Sandra Bland’s traffic stop “through a cop’s eyes” in his Saturday podcast.
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A memorial for Sandra Bland at the site of her arrest. Sandra Bland was found dead in her cell on July 13 in the Waller County Jail, just days after being arrested by Encinia during a traffic stop.
Overall, Encinia’s personal history file is described as “unremarkable”, with the officer receiving “competent” ratings in all the evaluations that were made public. Encinia’s personnel file shows a 2014 incident in which the trooper “was given a written counseling for unprofessional conduct…for an incident occurring while at a school in Austin”.
The Texas Department of Public Safety could not be reached for comment on Saturday. The evaluation stated, “In the future, Trooper Encinia should conduct himself at all times in a manner that will reflect well upon himself, the department, and the State of Texas”. For “stress tolerance”, he is said to have “performed effectively and rationally while involved in a pursuit resulting a firearms discharge”, another incident that did not come with specifics.
No other details about the disciplinary action were provided in the almost 80 pages of Encinia’s file that were released to The Texas Tribune and other media outlets.
The interaction, which was captured on a police dashcam video, quickly escalated after Bland refused to put out her cigarette, and the trooper attempted to physically remove her from her vehicle. But Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, has said Encinia violated internal policies of professionalism and courtesy. Encinia at one point is seen holding a stun gun as he says, “I will light you up!” after Bland refuses to get out of her vehicle.
Bland’s case follows the death of several black men in encounters with white police officers that have led to increased accusations of brutality against minorities. Even though trooper Brian Encinia had been on the job for about a year, the records give a glimpse of his background.
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Encinia’s most recent performance evaluation was for November and December 2014.
