Texas House committee grills DPS chief over Sandra Bland's death 
AUSTIN — Legislators were outraged Thursday at a committee hearing over the jailhouse death of Sandra Bland that ran through the afternoon and into the evening.
Lawmakers on the Texas House County Affairs Committee grilled Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw over state Trooper Brian Encinia’s conduct during the now-infamous traffic stop that led to Bland’s arrest and eventual death in a Waller County Jail cell. McCraw promised a thorough investigation into the incident, to which state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, replied: “I will make sure of that.”
“I know the death happened in the jail, but the catalyst for the death clearly came from the traffic stop,” Coleman said at one point during an intense exchange with McCraw.
The hearing Thursday in Austin was the first time lawmakers met to discuss the circumstances surrounding the death of the 28-year-old black woman from suburban Chicago. Coleman, chairman of the committee, promised future meetings.
Citing the ongoing investigation into the incident, McCraw declined to answer many questions, including one from Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, on whether there was a reason to arrest Bland.
Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, demanded to know why Encinia was still getting paid
“For a lot of people, it’s pretty cut-and-dry what happened,” said Stickland, who said he has watched the dash-cam video of Bland’s arrest multiple times. “Somebody’s liberties were stomped on.”
McCraw told Stickland no action would be taken against the state trooper until the investigation was complete. For now, he is assigned to administrative duties.
“We have to follow due process,” McCraw told Stickland and the other members of the committee. “Even if it would make my life easier at this hearing, we’re not going to suspend due process.”
Stickland also said he was angry that personal medical information from Bland’s autopsy and toxicology reports was released to the media, including information about the levels of marijuana in her system. The level of THC, a chemical found in marijuana, in Bland’s blood was three times Colorado’s legal driving limit.
Stickland expressed concern the information would be used to change the perception of Bland.
“What was the purpose of that information being released?” Stickland asked Brandon Wood, the executive director of the Texas Jail Standards Commission. “The timing is suspicious.”
Wood told Stickland that was a question for Waller County officials.
Originally Posted by dannno
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