HOUSTON — The family of a black woman found dead in a Texas jail three days after a confrontation with a white state trooper filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday against the officer and other officials, saying it was a last resort after being unable to get enough information about the case.
Bland, a 28-year-old Chicago-area woman, was found dead in her Waller County jail cell in Hempstead on July 13. Her family and others have criticized Trooper Brian Encinia, who stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change. Video of the stop shows the confrontation quickly escalated after Encinia asked Bland to put out her cigarette.
"This family's motivation is that they don't want to see this sort of thing happen again to another family," attorney Cannon Lambert said during a news conference in Houston.
Lambert expressed dismay that Encinia remains on administrative leave rather than being fired by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The trooper, on the force for just over a year, has been placed on administrative leave for violating unspecified police procedures and the department's courtesy policy.
The lawsuit names the Texas Department of Public Safety, Encinia, the Waller County Sheriff's Office and two jailers. The 46-page lawsuit seeks a jury trial for unspecified damages.
The Department of Public Safety said in a statement that it had not received notice of the lawsuit "and we do not discuss potential or pending litigation." Calls to Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis and other county officials were not immediately returned.