Texas trooper who stopped Sandra Bland indicted on perjury charge

A protester holds a Sandra Bland poster.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland last July was indicted by a grand jury for perjury.

Brian Encinia is accused of lying about how Bland, 28, was removed from her vehicle during a traffic stop that became confrontational; camera footage shows Encinia holding a stun gun and saying "I will light you up" as Bland refuses to exit the car, The Associated Press reports. Bland was arrested for assault and found three days later dead inside her jail cell. Her death has been ruled a suicide. Since Bland's death, Encinia has been on desk duty. After the indictment was announced, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it would move to fire him. In December, the same grand jury declined to indict sheriff's officials or jailers in the case.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.