A Texas grand jury concluded its deliberation today with the decision to indict Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian T. Encinia on a perjury charge stemming from his statements about the night when Sandra Bland was arrested before her death in a jail cell. The Houston Chronicle reports:
Darrell Jordan, a special prosecutor, said the charge is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The charge stemmed from a statement Encinia made in his report of the incident, which said he pulled Bland out of her car to continue the investigation.
In December, special prosecutors announced that a grand jury convened to review the circumstances surrounding Bland's detention and death had declined to issue any indictments to jail staff or any members of the Waller County Sheriff's Office.
The 28-year-old African-American woman was arrested during a traffic stop in July. Three days later, jail staff found her hanging from a noose in her Waller County jail cell. Her death, ruled a suicide by medical examiners, sparked disbelief from her family and outraged civil rights activists across the country, who called for greater accountability on the part of law enforcement.
The grand jury already determined that Encinia would not face any felony charges in the actual death of Bland, so this decision only focuses on Encinia’s account of the events that transpired during and after the traffic stop. But perhaps the trial will finally shed light on the mysterious events of that night and finally help fully answer the question of what exactly happened to Sandra Bland.