Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland Formally Fired
By Tina Burnside and Joshua Berlinger
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- The decision to fire Brian Encinia, the Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, was upheld by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday, according to a news release.
Encinia arrested Bland in July 2015 after a traffic stop. Authorities accused her of failing to use her turn signal.
Three days later, Bland was found dead in her cell.
No one was indicted in relation to the jailhouse death, but a grand jury did not believe Encinia's statement that he removed Bland from the car she was driving so he could conduct a safer traffic investigation.
Encinia was indicted on a perjury charge, and authorities began terminations proceedings shortly after.
He has the right to appeal Tuesday's decision.
Bland's death raised questions of excessive police force and the role of race in police interactions. She is African-American.
Her family says she should never have been arrested and would never have killed herself. Police say she hanged herself in her cell.
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