According to KHOU, a press release from the attorney’s office names Trooper Brian Encinia “and others responsible for the death of Sandra Bland” as defendants in the suit expected to be filed at a federal courthouse in Houston.
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Also named in the suit were Texas Department of Public Safety, the sheriff of Waller County and several of Bland’s jailers.
Authorities say bland committed suicide in her cell, but her family says they don’t believe that. Disturbing video of her arrest shows how quickly Bland and Encinia’s encounter escalated after he told her to put out her cigarette. But her family and their supporters insist that Bland’s death should be investigated and that she would not have killed herself in jail.
Reed-Veal seeks an unspecified amount in damages and a jury trial related to the case.
“We have to come together as a community because it’s not just a black and white issue”.
“The bottom line is she never should have been in that jail”, said Reed-Veal.
Bland was arrested July 10th as she drove to Prairie View A&M University to take a new job. The case has received nationwide attention after partial video of her arrest by DPS Officer Brian Encinia sparked nationwide outrage when it was uploaded to the Internet last month. Among the claims made in the lawsuit was that Waller County jailers should have known through her “bouts of uncontrollable crying” that Bland was a suicide risk, but still allowed the liner bag and other similar items to be in her jail cell.
“This family has been searching for answers for three weeks now”.
After a struggle outside the vehicle, Encinia arrested and charged her with assault on a public servant.
The Waller County sheriff’s office and the lawyer representing Waller County did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
– July 31: Department of Public Safety personnel records show Encinia was once cautioned about “unprofessional conduct” in a 2014 incident while he was still a probationary trooper.
Larry Simmons, an attorney for Waller County, said the county would soon file a response to the lawsuit “and our court filings will clearly articulate the county’s legal position in this matter”.
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Lambert said the suit also seeks information that will help shed light on what led to Bland’s death.
