DPS trooper indicted in Sandra Bland case surrenders

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 / 170 Caption Close DPS trooper indicted in Sandra Bland case surrenders 1 / 170 Back to Gallery

HEMPSTEAD — Six months after arresting Sandra Bland during a now-infamous traffic stop, state trooper Brian Encinia on Thursday returned to the Waller County jail where Bland died - this time to surrender to authorities on perjury charges.

Encinia, 30, surrendered to Texas Rangers after a Waller County judge signed his arrest warrant, Sheriff R. Glenn Smith said. The Rangers took the trooper to the jail, where he arrived in a gray pickup at 3:26 p.m.

Encinia was fingerprinted, photographed and released on a $2,500 bond.

The day before, a Waller County grand jury indicted Encinia, who had been with the Texas Department of Public Safety for a year before the July 10 arrest of Bland, a 28-year-old African-American woman.

Jailers found Bland dead, hanging in her cell from a noose made from a trash bag, three days after Encinia arrested her. Medical examiners ruled the death a suicide, although her family and others initially questioned the ruling. Her case and others propelled a national conversation about the use of force by police in interactions with civilians, particularly minorities.

Encinia stopped Bland for an improper lane change near Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, where she had recently taken a new job. Video of the incident - from a bystander and from a dashboard camera in Encinia's cruiser - documented an increasingly confrontational encounter between the two after Bland refused to put out a cigarette.

At one point, Encinia brandished a stun gun and shouted at Bland, "I will light you up!"

RELATED: Indicted trooper describes Sandra Bland traffic stop

Darrell Jordan, one of five special prosecutors, said the grand jury's indictment stemmed from Encinia's statement, in an affidavit he filed in Bland's arrest, that he pulled her out of her Hyundai Azera to "further conduct a safe traffic investigation."

"They just didn't believe it," Jordan said, referring to the grand jurors.

Bland's family and activists who have followed the case said the perjury charge was insufficient. Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland's mother, compared the indictment to a "slap on the wrist."

Cannon Lambert, who is representing the family in a civil lawsuit, questioned why the grand jury had not agreed on harsher charges, such as battery or false arrest. Encinia's lawyer, Larkin Eakin, said Thursday the trooper planned to plead not guilty. The grand jury, Eakin said, misinterpreted Encinia's statement.

"He is obviously upset but feels very much that he's not guilty, that that particular phrase he used (in his affidavit) was proper," he said.

If convicted, Encinia could spend up to a year in jail and pay a $4,000 fine.

After the indictment was announced, DPS said it was firing Encinia. Larkin said the DPS Officers Association would represent Encinia in the administrative process. A spokesman for the organization could not be reached Thursday.

Smith, the sheriff, said Encinia was "visibly concerned" during the booking process Thursday.

"I can't speak for him and his emotions, but it was obviously an unpleasant time for him," Smith said.

Smith said he believed Encinia chose to turn himself in and to be escorted by Texas Rangers as a "safety issue."

"I can assure you, some of the threats in the last five or six months, it at least makes you looking over your shoulder," Smith said, referring to messages he and others have received in the months since Bland's death.

Still, for Bland's family and friends, the speedy booking and release were a painful contrast to Bland's arrest and the three days she spent in jail before her death.

"It seems like he got royal treatment in terms of turning himself in," Lambert said. "We knew (Encinia) would turn himself in, and he wouldn't be in jail like Sandy was - it's amazing he got bail set lower than she got it set, and her bail was all predicated on a lie." Bland's bail was $5,000.

The indictment and booking came weeks after the same grand jury declined to indict any members of the jail staff or the sheriff's office in connection with Bland's death. Separately, state regulators found that during Bland's incarceration, jail staff did not adhere to minimum state standards.

Bland's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Waller County, two jailers, the DPS and Encinia.

RELATED: Grand jury indicts, DPS to fire trooper who arrested Sandra Bland