The Texas state trooper who stopped Sandra Bland and shouted "I will light you up" while pulling the black woman over has been indicted. The mother of the victim has recently commented on the latest development of the case.
In a report by ABC News, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia has been indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury. However, the relatives of Bland as well as the legal experts and civil rights group believe that he should have been indicted with felony misconduct.
If Encinia is convicted of the perjury charge, he faces a $4,000 fine and a maximum of one year behind bars. Activists and the Black Lives Matter movement argues that justice has slipped away due to the light charges.
Bland, a 28-year-old woman from Naperville, Illinois, was found dead in her jail cell three days after being confronted by the trooper last July during a traffic stop. Authorities said that Bland hung herself with a garbage bag and the grand jury has not charged anyone in her death.
Bland was stopped by Encinia due to an improper lane change and the confrontation led to a shouting match as well as a physical confrontation. As per the dash cam video, Encinia threatened to use a stun gun and Bland was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the trooper, CBC News reported.
According to the indictment, Encinia reportedly lied when he claimed in an affidavit that Bland was combative and non-cooperative.
Meanwhile, ABC7 shared that her sister, Sharon Cooper, said in a statement that the family feels it's long overdue. "It's something that should have happened at the inception of this case and this entire situation. I feel like it's acknowledgement for some of his actions, but not the totality of it. And that's the problem that we have."
As for Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, she is reportedly angry with the indictment and cliamed that it is not justice for them.
Encinia has not been taken into custody yet and an arraignment date is yet to be announced.
