The family of a black woman found dead in a Texas jail three days after a confrontation with a white state trooper has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the officer and other officials.
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The suit, filed in a federal court in Texas, said officials violated her constitutional rights.
The Texas Department of Public Safety had previously said that Trooper Encinia had acted improperly during the stop.
An effort by Bland’s family to pursue an independent medical examination has been hindered by authorities in Waller County, where Bland was arrested, he said.
In addition to the questions that most believe authorities are sweeping under the rug, the autopsy results with vital information about Bland’s gastric content, time of death and other details have not been shared with any member of the family yet.
An autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences concluded Bland had used a plastic bag to hang herself. The coroner deemed Bland’s death a suicide.
– July 22: Waller County officials release jail intake records for Bland.
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said his office will look at the original arrest to determine if the trooper’s actions were appropriate and to examine Bland’s death in her cell.
Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland’s mother, told reporters, “If the facts show without a doubt [she committed suicide], I’ll have to be prepared to deal with that”. The encounter quickly became contentious, and Bland was arrested on a charge of assault on a public servant. 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.
Lambert expressed dismay that Encinia remains on administrative leave rather than being fired.
Bland family lawyer Cannon Lambert told a news conference in Houston: “The reason that we filed a lawsuit today was because, candidly, we’ve been unable to get numerous answers that we’ve been asking for, for weeks”.
“We just don’t want this to happen to another family….”
Bland was in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, when she was stopped July 10 for a minor traffic infraction.
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Bland was also forbidden from contacting her family and friends via telephone on July 12 and 13, it added.
