DA: Sandra Bland’s Death Being Treated As Murder Investigation
HEMPSTEAD, Texas, July 20 (UPI) — One week after 28-year-old Sandra Bland was found dead in her Texas jail cell, the Waller County, Texas, district attorney said his office is treating the case as a murder investigation.
District Attorney Elton Mathis told reporters Monday, “this is being treated like a murder investigation.”
Bland was found hanging by a plastic bag in her jail cell July 13, three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop. She was charged with assault on a public servant after allegedly becoming combative with Trooper Brian Encinia.
The traffic stop took place near Prairie View A&M University where Bland had recently gotten a job after moving from her hometown in Illinois.
“There are too many questions that need to be resolved. Ms. Bland’s family does make valid points. She did have a lot of things going on in her life for good,” Mathis said.
Meanwhile, the dashboard video from Encinia’s cruiser is scheduled to be released Tuesday. Mathis, who has viewed the video, said Bland did not cooperate with Encinia’s instructions. She was also accused of kicking the officer.
“Sandra Bland was very combative. It was not a model traffic stop. It was not a model person that was stopped,” Mathis said.
A bystander also took video of the incident, which appears to show a trooper pushing Bland to the ground and restraining her.
She can be heard yelling out, “You just slammed my head into the ground. Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear.”
Bland’s family, who also saw the dashboard video, said it doesn’t appear to show the woman attacking the officer in any way.
“You can’t see at any point where Bland attacks the officer,” said Jamal Bryant, an advocate for Bland’s family, and pastor at Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore.
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