DPS seeks to dismiss Bland death lawsuit
The Texas Department of Public Safety and Trooper Brian Encinia filed motions Tuesday to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit in the death of Sandra Bland, five days after Waller County filed court papers rebutting claims that it was responsible for her death in the county jail.
DPS claimed immunity under the 11th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which limits the ability of the federal court system to hear lawsuits against states, according to court filings.
Encinia, the DPS trooper who pulled Bland over for not signaling a lane change and then arrested her after an altercation, also claimed immunity under different rules protecting the government from lawsuits. Encinia, who is still on administrative duty, also asserted that the plaintiff, Bland’s mother, needs to point out which specific constitutional rights he violated during Bland’s traffic stop.
DPS spokeswoman Summer Blackwell said the department does not discuss pending litigation. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is representing the DPS and Encinia, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Bland, 28, was found dead July 13, three days after she was pulled over by Encinia in Prairie View.
Encinia said he arrested Bland because she kicked him
during the traffic stop. In a dashcam video of the arrest, Encinia is shown losing his temper with Bland after she refused to put out a cigarette during the arrest.
Bland remained in Waller County Jail for three days because she was unable to post an approximately $500 bail, then was found hanged in a cell. Her death was ruled a suicide by Harris County medical examiners.
But the circumstances around her traffic stop and questions about how Bland was treated before her death ignited nationwide furor over the treatment of minorities at the hands of law enforcement.
The case prompted the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation and Waller County officials to re-examine their law enforcement policies and practices. Several state legislators have pushed for reforms in Texas’ jail system and emphasized the need for better mental health treatment and jail accountability.
The motion by DPS and Encinia, filed Tuesday, and the county’s response last week are the first responses to the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland’s mother Geneva Reed-Veal in early August.
The suit names Encinia, DPS and Waller County as defendants as well as two Waller County jailers.
It states Encinia “demonstrated a deliberate indifference to and conscious disregard for the constitutional rights and safety of Sandra Bland,” and stated DPS should have known he “exhibited a pattern of escalating encounters with the public.”
The lawsuit accuses screening officers at the county jail of inadequately monitoring Bland and failing to provide proper medical care when she was found injured in her cell.
The lawsuit accuses Waller County of not providing sufficient training to jail staff for handling inmates “who are mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal.”
In a Sept. 4 response, the county denied that they had “any actual knowledge of” or were “deliberately indifferent to any alleged serious risk of harm to Sandra Bland.”
The county also says that Bland’s suicide assessments did not indicate she faced a substantial or serious risk of suicide. Instead, “Sandra Bland simply stated she had attempted to commit suicide by taking pills on one occasion in 2014, after losing a baby, and she confirmed that she was not suicidal.”
In response to questions about the claim, Larry Simmons, the attorney representing the Waller County defendants, said Wednesday that the “pleadings are going to speak for themselves.”
The county’s response also states Bland was treated with “courtesy and respect” and “was provided benefits and accommodations beyond what the law and County policies required.”
The county’s motion also supports severing the state defendants — DPS and Encinia — from the county defendants and trying both cases separately.