Sandra Bland's family will get $1.9 million in wrongful death lawsuit

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Sandra Bland’s family will get $1.9 million in wrongful death lawsuit

The family of Sandra Bland, a black Chicago-area woman who died in a Texas jail after a contentious traffic stop last summer, has reached a $1.9 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit, the family’s attorney said Thursday. The county jail will also step up staff training and inmate monitoring, and have a nurse or emergency medical technician available for all shifts as part of the settlement, the lawyer said. Bland died in her cell at the Waller County Jail three days after she was arrested by a white Texas state trooper for a minor traffic offense in July 2015. Her death was ruled a suicide, and Bland’s family later sued the county and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

However, Waller County attorney Larry Simmons said the agreement hasn’t been finalized and was supposed to remain confidential until a final settlement was reached. He also said the county “vigorously” denies any fault or wrongdoing in Bland’s death. Bland was pulled over by a state trooper for changing lanes without signaling. The stop grew confrontational, and the trooper, Brian Encinia, ordered her from the car before forcing her to the ground. Video from the traffic stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, “I will light you up!” and failing to answer her when she asked repeatedly why she was being arrested. Encinia was later fired and indicted on a misdemeanor perjury charge stemming from the arrest. He has pleaded not guilty.