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HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — The latest in the indictment of a Texas state trooper in connection to a contentious traffic stop and arrest of a black woman who later died in jail (all times local):
The attorney for the Texas state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland says his client is appealing his termination.
Larkin Eakin said Thursday that the termination of Trooper Brian Encinia announced by the Texas Department of Public Safety is unwarranted.
Eakin also said his client reported that Bland reached into her purse when he ordered her to extinguish a cigarette before the arrest. Eakin said Bland reached into her purse — a move Enicinia interpreted as potentially threatening. It was at that point that Encinia threatened to use a stun gun on Bland.
Eakin said Encinia now regrets the intemperate language he used with Bland, including his threat to Bland to "light you up" with the stun gun.
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5 p.m.
The Texas state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland is free after posting bond.
Brian Encinia surrendered Thursday afternoon at the Waller County Jail and posted his $2,500 bond less than an hour later. He was processed in the same room where Bland was booked last summer after her confrontation with Encinia during a traffic stop.
A grand jury indicted the trooper on Wednesday on a misdemeanor perjury charge for allegedly lying about the circumstances of his arrest of Bland. If convicted he could face up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Messages left with the Encinia's attorney Thursday have not been returned.
The 28-year-old Bland was stopped in July for an improper lane change. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper. Authorities say Bland hanged herself in her jail cell several days later.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced after the indictment that it would begin the process of firing Encinia.
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3:54 p.m.
The Texas state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland has arrived in a pickup truck at the jail where Bland died after her arrest last summer.
Brian Encinia arrived at the Waller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas, as a passenger in a Ford F-150 pickup truck that pulled up to an overhead door at the jail. The door raised to admit the truck, then was lowered quickly.
Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith says the booking process general takes about 30 minutes to complete. If bond is set and posted, Encinia would then be released.
A grand jury indicted Encinia a day earlier on a misdemeanor perjury charge for allegedly lying about the circumstances of his arrest of Bland last summer. If convicted he would face up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Messages left with the Encinia's attorney Thursday have not been returned.
The 28-year-old Bland was stopped in July for an improper lane change. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper. Authorities say Bland hanged herself in her jail cell several days later.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced after the indictment that it would begin the process of firing Encinia.
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3:40 p.m.
The Texas state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland has turned himself in to authorities.
Brian Encinia surrendered Thursday afternoon at the Waller County Jail and his bond was set at $2,500.
A grand jury indicted Encinia a day earlier on a misdemeanor perjury charge for allegedly lying about the circumstances of his arrest of Bland last summer. If convicted he would face up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Messages left with the Encinia's attorney Thursday have not been returned.
The 28-year-old Bland was stopped in July for an improper lane change. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper. Authorities say Bland hanged herself in her jail cell several days later.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced after the indictment that it would begin the process of firing Encinia.
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1:35 p.m.
A Texas sheriff says the state trooper charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland is expected to turn himself in after a judge signed the arrest warrant.
Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said Brian Encinia will likely surrender sometime Thursday afternoon. He says bond has been set at $2,500.
A grand jury indicted Encinia Wednesday on a misdemeanor perjury charge for allegedly lying about the circumstances of his arrest of Bland last summer. If convicted he would face up to one year in prison and a $4,000 fine.
Messages left with the trooper's attorney Thursday have not been returned.
The 28-year-old Bland was stopped in July for an improper lane change. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper. Authorities say Bland hanged herself in her jail cell several days later.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced after the indictment that it would begin the process of firing Encinia.
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9:15 a.m.
The mother of Sandra Bland says her daughter's arrest and death in a Texas jail cell should have resulted in something more than a perjury charge against the white state trooper who arrested the black motorist.
Geneva Reed-Veal told reporters in Chicago Thursday that "there should have been much more" from the grand jury that indicted Trooper Brian Encinia on Wednesday with lying about the circumstances of his traffic stop and arrest of Bland.
The 28-year-old woman was stopped in July for an improper lane change. She was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper. Authorities say Bland hanged herself in her jail cell several days later.
Reed-Veal says the family wanted to see Encinia charged with battery and false arrest.
She says she doesn't trust the justice process, but wants to see a conviction. She told reporters she is "not super excited" about the indictment.
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