The Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who arrested Sandra Bland — a 28-year-old black woman who later was found dead in the Waller County jail — has been formally fired, three months after a grand jury indicted him on a perjury charge related to the arrest. For the Class A misdemeanor, Brian Encina faces a maximum penalty of a $4,000 fine and up to a year in the same jail where Sandra Bland died.
From the Chicago Tribune:
He's accused of lying about his July 2015 arrest of Sandra Bland and their confrontational traffic stop that was caught on dashcam video.
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[Trooper Brian] Encinia had been on paid desk duty since Bland's arrest and remained on the payroll after McCraw announced in December that the agency would begin the process of firing him. He is now no longer a paid employee and will remain that way even if he appeals his dismissal to the state's Public Safety Commission, Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said.
Back in January, Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw told The Texas Tribune that the escalation in Bland's arrest was the fault of the trooper. From the report:
Encinia violated protocol, acted unprofessionally and allowed the interaction to escalate quickly, McCraw said. “We require professional courtesy and display at all times, and clearly he did not do it in that situation,” the director said.
Encina also faces a wrongful death lawsuit from Bland's family.
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