Brian Encinia, the Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who unnecessarily accosted and arrested Sandra Bland in July of 2015 has been officially fired from his job.
As reported earlier this year on January 20th,
Encinia pulled Bland over for making an illegal lane change on July 10, 2015. Encinia wrote Bland a ticket for the offense, but before giving it to her to sign he asked her to put out the cigarette she was smoking. When Bland questioned the request, Encinia’s tone changed and he demanded she exit the vehicle. Bland questioned the rationale for that also, and Encinia threatened to use his Taser on her, saying he was giving her a lawful order. Bland eventually exited her vehicle and Encinia took her out of the view of his vehicle’s dash camera where he says she assaulted him, prompting him to place Bland under arrest. Bland was found dead in the Waller County, Texas, jail three days later where officials there said she hung herself.
The decision to fire Encinia was made not long after a Waller County grand jury indicted him on charges of perjury relating to why he had Bland exit her vehicle on July 10, 2015.
The [former trooper] can still appeal the decision to fire him, which came after a grand jury indicted him on a perjury charge in December. He's accused of lying about his July 2015 arrest of Sandra Bland and their confrontational traffic stop that was caught on dashcam video.
Encinia met last month with Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, but their conversation gave the agency leader no reason "to alter my preliminary decision," according to a termination letter signed by Encinia on Wednesday.