Lawyer: $1.9M settlement in Sandra Bland lawsuit

HOUSTON -- The family of Sandra Bland, a black Chicago-area woman who died in a Texas jail after a contentious traffic stop last summer, has reached a $1.9 million settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in connection with the case, the family's lawyer told a Houston television station Thursday.

But local officials said the agreement hasn't been finalized and was supposed to remain confidential until a final settlement was reached.

Bland died in her cell at the Waller County Jail three days after she was arrested by a white Texas state trooper for a minor traffic offense in July 2015. Her death was ruled a suicide, and Bland's family later sued the county and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The family's Chicago-based attorney, Cannon Lambert, told Houston television station KTRK the $1.9 million settlement includes a provision the jail have a 24-hour nurse or emergency medical technician on duty.

Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, told the station any legislation passed that benefits Waller County must be named in her daughter's honor.

"It's awesome," Reed-Veal told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. "It's a victory for mothers across the country."

Waller County attorney Larry Simmons said Thursday a potential settlement has been reached but isn't final. He also said the parties involved agreed in writing the agreement would be kept confidential until it was finalized.

Simmons said the county and lawyers for Bland's family were "still working through a few details," and any settlement must be approved by the county commissioners. He also said the county "vigorously" denies any fault or wronging in Bland's death.

Bland's sister didn't respond to a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Bland was pulled over by a state trooper in Prairie View, Texas, northwest of Houston, for changing lanes without signaling.

The stop grew confrontational, and the trooper, Brian Encinia, ordered her from the car before forcing her to the ground. She was taken into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant, but she was unable to come up with the $500 bail immediately, according to investigators.

Video from the traffic stop shows Encinia drawing his stun gun and telling Bland, "I will light you up!"

She later can be heard off-camera screaming he's about to break her wrists and complaining he knocked her head into the ground. The video provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Encinia later was fired and charged with misdemeanor perjury. He has pleaded not guilty.

In an affidavit, Encinia's said he removed Bland "from her vehicle to further conduct a safer traffic investigation," but prosecutors said grand jurors in Waller County found that statement to be false.