Sandra Bland

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Breonna Taylor's Family: She Lived for 6 Minutes
Breonna Taylor's Family
Lobs Big New Allegations
the rundown
Jul 7, 2020 8:27 AM CDT

Breonna Taylor's Family Lobs Big New Allegations

Including that officers failed to provide her aid when she initially survived shooting

(Newser) - Lawyers for the family of Breonna Taylor have leveled new allegations at Louisville police and city officials in amended court documents—including that officers failed to help and that her raid was tied to a city gentrification plan. Taylor was a 26-year-old black EMT fatally shot in her apartment on...

Sandra Bland Speaks Through Own Arrest Video

Family claims evidence was withheld

(Newser) - Family members are calling to reopen a criminal investigation into Sandra Bland's death in a Texas jail cell with the surfacing of her own arrest video . Bland, who was found to have committed suicide three days after the July 2015 arrest in Waller County, is heard asking a state...

America's Jails Face a Worsening Crisis
In America's Jails,
a Crisis Is Worsening
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 3, 2019 10:13 AM CST

In America's Jails, a Crisis Is Worsening

More and more inmates have addictions or mental illnesses, and local sheriffs can't cope

(Newser) - It's a collision of realities that adds up to worsening trouble for American jails: More inmates than ever have addictions or mental illnesses, while county sheriffs don't have the expertise or the resources to cope. Steve Coll of the New Yorker takes a deep dive into what his...

Randy Moss Goes With Statement Tie at HOF Induction

'I just wanted these family members to know they're not alone'

(Newser) - Randy Moss spoke for 17 minutes at his NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night—but his tie had even more to say. The wide receiver wore a tie with the names of a dozen black men and women who were killed by police, died in custody, or, in...

Sandra Bland's Family Will Get $1.9M

Plus changes to jail procedures

(Newser) - The Texas jail where Sandra Bland died must adopt new procedures as part of a $1.9 million settlement of a wrongful death suit . Bland's family will accept $1.8 million from the Waller County Jail and $100,000 from the Texas Department of Public Safety, reports KTRK . The...

Texas Trooper Who Stopped Sandra Bland Is Fired

Brian Encinia can still appeal the decision to fire him

(Newser) - A Texas trooper indicted over his arrest of a black woman who was later found dead in jail has been formally fired, three months after his bosses first announced they would do so, state officials said Wednesday. Former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia can still appeal the...

Black-ish Nails Episode on Police Brutality

Positive reactions flooding in

(Newser) - On Wednesday night, ABC's Black-ish aired a ripped-from-the-headlines show that some might call a "very special episode." The entire half-hour featured the sitcom family sitting in the living room watching the news to see if a police officer would be indicted in a police brutality case. The...

Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland Indicted

Brian Encinia faces perjury charge

(Newser) - The grand jury that refused to hand down indictments in the jailhouse death of Sandra Bland has indicted the Texas state trooper who arrested her for a minor traffic infraction. Brian Encinia—who was seen on video telling Bland he would "light her up" —was indicted on perjury...

Grand Jury Won't Indict in Sandra Bland Death

Trooper who arrested her could still be charged

(Newser) - No felony crime was committed by jailers in the puzzling jailhouse death of Sandra Bland and no indictments will be issued, a grand jury in Texas decided Monday night. In what was ruled a suicide, the 28-year-old was found dead in her cell at the Waller County Jail three days...

County Makes 'Insulting' Claim About Sandra Bland's Death

'Pouring salt into the wound'

(Newser) - Sandra Bland killed herself while in jail because her relatives refused to bail her out. At least that's what Texas' Waller County is claiming in an effort to have her family's wrongful death lawsuit dismissed, the AP reports. "It is apparent now that Bland's inability...

Sandra Bland's Mom Sues Trooper Who Arrested Her

Among others...

(Newser) - Sandra Bland's family has decided to sue. Bland's mother today filed a federal wrongful death suit against the Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who arrested her daughter, among others, reports the Houston Chronicle . Geneva Reed-Veal names the department itself; Waller County Sheriff's Office employees Elsa...

Trooper in Sandra Bland Arrest Disciplined Last Year

Brian Encinia got into trouble for an incident at a school

(Newser) - The trooper who arrested Sandra Bland is on desk duty , having been cited for unspecified violations of traffic-stop procedures and his department's "courtesy policy." It turns out that this isn't Brian Encinia's first brush with misconduct. The Houston Chronicle reports that the 30-year-old was disciplined...

To Kill Rumors, Cops Release Hours of Sandra Bland Jail Video

They want to dispel theories she was dead before she got there

(Newser) - Authorities in Waller County, Texas, today took the unusual step of releasing hours of video of Sandra Bland in jail after her arrest. The reason was unusual as well—to debunk conspiracy theories that she was already dead when she arrived, reports USA Today . "We're hoping that by...

Odd Social Media Theory: Bland Is Dead in Mugshot

People seem particularly fixated on the background color

(Newser) - One forensic expert tells the Daily Beast the claim is "ridiculous." But being ridiculous never stopped the Internet before: A theory has been making the rounds on social media (and covered by outlets like USA Today and Buzzfeed ) that Sandra Bland was actually dead in her mugshot...

County: Sandra Bland Had Marijuana in Her System

DA says 'large amount' turned up in toxicology report

(Newser) - Autopsy results out today on Sandra Bland point to suicide by hanging, reports CNN . But the bigger headlines were revolving around the presence of marijuana in Bland's system. Reuters reports that the Waller County district attorney sent the following text to the family attorney: "Looking at the autopsy...

Sandra Bland Told Jailers of Previous Suicide Attempt

It occurred last year

(Newser) - When Sandra Bland was being booked into jail, she filled out a form saying she had attempted suicide with pills within the past year, the Houston Chronicle reports. For a reason, she wrote "lost baby." Bland also indicated that she was not feeling suicidal at the time of...

Sandra Bland Arrest Video Wasn't Edited, Say Officials

Inconsistencies spotted in dashcam video came from upload glitch: DPS

(Newser) - A rep for the Texas Department of Public Safety says the dashcam video of Sandra Bland's arrest "has not been edited" and that various inconsistencies are the result of a "technical issue during posting," reports the Texas Tribune and NBC News . The DPS earlier said it...

Video: Cop Tells Sandra Bland, 'I Will Light You Up'

Dashcam video shows tense arrest

(Newser) - Authorities in Texas have released the dashcam video of the arrest of Sandra Bland , and it reveals an increasingly hostile encounter between her and trooper Brian Encinia, reports NBC and the New York Times . After an initial exchange, Encinia tells Bland she seems irritated and she answers, "I am....

Timeline Emerges in Sandra Bland's Jail Cell Death

Bland left alone for 90 minutes before she was found dead: cop

(Newser) - "What happened to Sandy Bland?" read a sign held by a woman camped out yesterday outside the building where the 28-year-old was found dead on July 13. There is still no answer, but there are more details: A timeline of Bland's final hours before she was found dead...

Cop in Sandra Bland Traffic Stop Now on Desk Duty

Investigation continues into her suspicious death in Texas

(Newser) - It sounds like Texas law-enforcement officials think the trooper who pulled over Sandra Bland was a little too aggressive. "We have identified violations of the department's procedures regarding traffic stops and the department's courtesy policy," says the Texas Department of Public Safety, without elaborating. The trooper...

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