Texas Trooper To Be Fired After Being Charged With Perjury In Sandra Bland Case
(CBS) --The Texas Department of Safety will begin the process to terminate a Texas state trooper after a grand jury indicted him on perjury charges after a contentious traffic stop of woman who later died in jail.
Just two weeks ago, that grand jury decided not to charge anyone at the jail in Sandra Bland's death.
Dash cam video shows the traffic stop in which Trooper Brian Encinia pulled Bland over for an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University.
The traffic stop escalates, and there is a struggle before Bland is taken into custody.
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Bland, 28, who grew up in Chicago and had recently moved to Texas for work, died at the Waller County Jail just three days later.
Investigators said she was found hanging in her cell.
The Medical Examiner ruled her death a suicide.
The charge against Encinia is a misdemeanor.
Dashcam video shows the traffic stop quickly became confrontational, with Encinia holding a stun gun and yelling, "I will light you up!" after Bland refused to get out of her car.
Encinia is accused of lying about how he removed Bland from her vehicle. The Texas Department of Public Safety says it will begin termination proceedings against the officer.
WBBM's Steve Miller spoke with Bland's sister Sharon Cooper, who says Encina should have been charged with assault.
"I almost feel like the perjury indictment is a bone thrown at us to appease us, and it's certainly not enough," Cooper said.
The lawyer for Sandra Bland's family tells WBBM the indictment of the Texas state trooper is "an empty effort."
Attorney Cannon Lambert, who represents the family of Sandra Bland, says "you do want to see someone held accountable for what they do." And he says indicting Trooper Encinia for perjury "does not fully accomplish that."
"I'm wondering why he was not indicted for assault when he said, 'I'm going to light you up,' or battery, when he grabbed her from her car - trying to pull her out of the car.
"I'm concerned that he wasn't charged and indicted for false arrest, because he arrested her under false pretense (and) why he wasn't indicted for abuse of police powers.
"It feels like this is just an empty effort to try and pacify, really."
The perjury charge is a misdemeanor and if Trooper Encinia is convicted he could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000.
