Post by pavel on Jan 10, 2016 6:18:45 GMT -6
The Texas Department of Public Safety and indicted trooper Brian Encinia want a federal judge to let the officer's criminal case in Waller County play out before moving forward with a lawsuit filed by Sandra Bland's mother.
Bland's case drew national attention after Encinia stopped her near the Prairie View A&M University campus on July 10 for failing to properly signal a lane change. After a heated argument, Encinia arrested Bland for assaulting a public servant. Bland was found hanged in her Waller County jail cell three days later, and her death has been ruled a suicide.
Encinia, the trooper who arrested Bland, is facing a perjury charge after a Waller County grand jury concluded Wednesday that there was evidence the officer lied about how Bland exited her car. Attorneys for Encinia and the state say the lawsuit filed by Bland's mother could interfere with the officer's right to a fair trial.
Texas Assistant Attorney General Seth Byron Dennis said in court papers filed Friday that the investigative reports and depositions that would surface in such a lawsuit "would interfere with Trooper Encinia’s ability to receive a fair trial in the state criminal matter... Given the media coverage of this case, public dissemination of reports could influence jurors."
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/01/09/sandra-bland-case-dps-trooper-move-halt-federal-la/
Bland's case drew national attention after Encinia stopped her near the Prairie View A&M University campus on July 10 for failing to properly signal a lane change. After a heated argument, Encinia arrested Bland for assaulting a public servant. Bland was found hanged in her Waller County jail cell three days later, and her death has been ruled a suicide.
Encinia, the trooper who arrested Bland, is facing a perjury charge after a Waller County grand jury concluded Wednesday that there was evidence the officer lied about how Bland exited her car. Attorneys for Encinia and the state say the lawsuit filed by Bland's mother could interfere with the officer's right to a fair trial.
Texas Assistant Attorney General Seth Byron Dennis said in court papers filed Friday that the investigative reports and depositions that would surface in such a lawsuit "would interfere with Trooper Encinia’s ability to receive a fair trial in the state criminal matter... Given the media coverage of this case, public dissemination of reports could influence jurors."
Read more: www.texastribune.org/2016/01/09/sandra-bland-case-dps-trooper-move-halt-federal-la/