Texas House committee report lays foundation for 'Sandra Bland Act'
Fourteen recommendations in the Texas House County Affairs Committee's recent report to lawmakers – including calls for them to increase police officer training for de-escalation and mental health awareness, to back jail-to-treatment diversion programs, and eliminate consent searches during stops – will be the foundation for the Sandra Bland Act.
State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, announced last year that he would file the bill to address race, poverty, mental health and accountability in law enforcement and corrections.
In 2015, former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia stopped Sandra Bland in Prairie View after she failed to signal a lane change. Bland's conversation with the arresting officer became heated, and she was arrested for assaulting a public servant.
Bland, a 28-year-old Illinois woman, was found dead in her Waller County Jail cell three days after her arrest, sparking concerns about jail conditions and outrage across the country. Her death has been ruled a suicide by hanging.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/02/03/texas-house-committee-report-lays-foundation-sandra-bland-act/
