AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The top boss over the Texas trooper who arrested Sandra Bland said there was reason to pull her over for failing to signal a lane change and told lawmakers Thursday that the trooper remains on the state payroll because the investigation is still playing out.
Bland was found dead in the Waller County jail on July 13, three days after her arrest. Authorities say she hanged herself with a garbage bag, a find her family has questioned. Her family and others also have criticized the traffic stop that led to Bland’s arrest.
“There was a reason, if you look at it from a traffic violation standpoint,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said, responding to sometimes pointed questions from lawmakers during a hearing at the state Capitol. “But again, I don’t want to prejudge. I don’t know what the trooper is going to say in terms of when he’s interviewed. When the investigation is over with, I’ll be able to assess.”
He later told reporters that while he had not yet spoken to Trooper Brian Encinia, the Texas Rangers and FBI have interviewed the trooper.
The confrontation between Bland and Encinia swiftly escalated after she objected to being told to put out her cigarette. Bland, who was black, eventually was arrested for allegedly assaulting the white trooper.