Historical marker honors Bland’s life
Nearly seven years after the traffic stop that led to Sandra Bland’s arrest and later her death, Prairie View officials have unveiled a historical marker honoring her life.
Bland, 28, of Naperville, Ill., had recently moved to Texas to start a job at Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, when a state trooper pulled her over on July 13, 2015, on University Drive for allegedly failing to signal a lane change.
The encounter grew heated after Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia ordered Bland to put out a cigarette she was smoking. Bland replied: “Why do I have to put out a cigarette when I’m in my own car?”
The trooper ordered Bland out of the car, and when she refused, he tried to pull her out. A struggle ensued. Video of the encounter shows Encinia brandishing a stun gun in Bland’s face and threatening: “I will light you up.”
Bland was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. Three days later, she was found hanged in her cell in the Waller County jail. The death was ruled a suicide.
The incident prompted nationwide protests and a reexamination of traffic stops. Encinia ultimately surrendered his peace officer’s license and agreed never again to seek or accept employment in law enforcement.
On Tuesday, city officials in Prairie View unveiled the plaque honoring Bland. It describes her time as a student at Prairie View A&M and includes details about her life and her passions.
Geneva Reed-veal, Bland’s mother, called the memorial a “culmination” of sorts and said she was grateful to be Bland’s mother and that her daughter “clearly has touched the world.”
Bland’s sister, Shante Needham, said Bland “will always continue to speak through us.”
“She will always be in our mouths, she will always be recognized, and people will not be able to forget her,” she said, “because her voice demands to be heard.”
Months after Bland’s death, a grand jury indicted Encinia on a charge of perjury for stating falsely in an affidavit that he removed Bland from her car “to further conduct a safe traffic investigation.”
Prosecutors dropped the charge after Encinia surrendered his peace officer’s license and agreed never to seek or accept “employment in any capacity with law enforcement,” in Texas or elsewhere.
Texas authorities and the FBI also investigated Bland’s death and determined that Waller County jail personnel did not follow policies requiring regular checks on inmates and that jail employees had not completed mandatory mental health training.
Texas lawmakers passed the Sandra Bland Act, which reformed jail procedures related to treatment of mentally ill inmates and which requires independent investigations into jail deaths.