The family of Sandra Bland — who died last year in a Waller County Jail cell — has reached a settlement with Texas officials in a wrongful death lawsuit, a lawyer for the family said Thursday.
Waller County and the Texas Department of Public Safety will pay the family a total of $1.9 million and the county has agreed to policy changes, according to attorney Cannon Lambert. The terms were finalized Wednesday, Lambert said.
The fight began on July 10, 2015, when former Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia stopped Bland near the Prairie View A&M University campus for failing to properly signal a lane change. After a heated argument, the trooper arrested Bland for assaulting a public servant. Three days later, she was found hanged in her cell at Waller County Jail. Her death was ruled a suicide.
The circumstances of Bland's arrest, which was caught on dashboard camera video, spurred a national discussion about race and policing. The FBI and Texas Rangers investigated, Bland's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit, legislative hearings were held and the screening process for new inmates in Texas county jails was changed.
In federal court, Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, was suing Encinia, Waller County and several of its employees. The judge in the case ordered mediation in July.
Go here to read the rest of the story on the Texas Tribune's website.
