Sandra Bland trooper pleads not guilty to perjury in Waller County amid protests

HEMPSTEAD - Protesters confronted Sheriff Glenn Smith outside the Waller County Courthouse Tuesday after a former state trooper pleaded not guilty to lying about the details of his arrest of Sandra Bland during a traffic stop near Prairie View A&M.

The protesters gathered at the courthouse as former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia appeared before State District Judge Albert M. McCaig Jr. on misdemeanor perjury charge.

Encinia was indicted in January by a grand jury on perjury charges over claims he made in a sworn statement that he removed Bland her from her car last July to conduct a safer traffic investigation. If convicted of the charge, he could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Encinia denies the charges.

Protesters confronting Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith #SandraBland pic.twitter.com/yZJlyxW2N5 — St. John B. Smith (@stjbs) March 22, 2016

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The hearing, before a packed courtroom, lasted about two minutes.

Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, was among the spectators, as was Bland's older sister, Shante Needham, and the family's lawyer, Cannon Lambert.

"I'm sad at the same time, because my daughter's not here," said Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, who had flown in from Chicago to attend the hearing. "To come all this way, I needed to do it."

On the courthouse lawn, after the hearing, one of Encinia's attorneys said the grand jury's indictment represented a "fundamental misunderstanding" of police procedure.

"This case now represents much more than Brian Encinia," said Chip Lewis, the attorney. "It is a threat to all Texas police officers in the state of Texas."

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, more than a dozen protesters surrounded the sheriff as he was talking to reporters and accused him of being complicit in Bland's death.

"This is their right," he said, when asked about their comments.

Bland's family had met with the special prosecutors handling the case and made clear that they were not interested in a plea deal, but wanted Encinia to receive the maximum penalty provided under the law, said Lambert, the family's attorney.

"Anything short of that, I think, will be a disservice to this family," he said..

DPS trooper Brian Encinia, charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland, turned himself in to officials in Waller County, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. DPS trooper Brian Encinia, charged with perjury in the arrest of Sandra Bland, turned himself in to officials in Waller County, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Photo: Uncredited, Waller County Photo: Uncredited, Waller County Image 1 of / 152 Caption Close Sandra Bland trooper pleads not guilty to perjury in Waller County amid protests 1 / 152 Back to Gallery

Bland, a 28-year old Chicago native, was found dead in her jail cell three days after her arrest in July. Medical examiners ruled her death a suicide, but her relatives initially disputed the finding. In the subsequent outcry, Bland became an emblem for protesters of police brutality and for members of the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly after DPS released dash cam video of Bland's arrest.

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The video captured a spiraling confrontation between Encinia and Bland after Encinia asked her to put out a cigarette and she refused.

DPS later fired Encinia, saying he violated the department's courtesy policy and procedures. Encinia is appealing the termination.

Chip Lewis, one of Encinia's attorneys, said Tuesday the charges are a threat to all Texas law enforcement officers.

Separately, the trooper is named in a wide-ranging civil lawsuit filed by Bland's family that alleges negligence wrongful death.