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Sandra Bland’s Family Settles For $1.9 Million And New Jail Procedures

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Sandra Bland’s family settled their wrongful death lawsuit for $1.9 million and the promise of new jail procedures, according to the family’s lawyer Thursday.

The family filed the civil suit after jailers found Bland dead in her cell three days after her arrest for failing to use her turning signal. Waller County jail will pay $1.8 million of the settlement, while the Texas Department of Public Safety will pay $100,000, reports ABC 13.

As part of the settlement, Waller County jail must enact new jail procedures. They include having emergency nurses for all shifts, inmate screening and using automated electronic sensors for accurate cell checks.

Any legislation passed that helps the jail has to be named for Sandra Brand, her mother Geneva Reed-Veal said.

Former Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia pulled Bland over in 2015 for not using her turning signal. Encinia alleged that he planned to let Bland go with a written warning before she started becoming confrontational.

Dash camera video revealed the situation got worse when Bland refused to put out her cigarette after Encinia asked her to. When he told her to get out of the car, Bland refused.

Encinia tried to pull Bland out of the car and pointed what looked like a Taser at her.

In his arrest warrant, Encinia alleged that Bland was “combative and uncooperative.” He was later indicted on a perjury charge and fired by the Department of Public Safety.

Three days after her arrest, Bland was found hanging in her jail cell. Though authorities said it was a suicide, her family alleged that she was murdered.

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