Ex-Prosecutor: Texas Officer ‘Abused His Power’ in Bland Traffic Stop

Norman Parish | As of Thursday, July 30, 2015


Sandra Bland’s somber funeral at DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church attracted hundreds of supporters, who were shocked and dismayed that her death stemmed from a simple traffic stop.

The shock, however, wasn’t just Saturday at the church in Lisle, Ill., but also by some by law enforcement experts, like Marian Perkins, a former Cook County prosecutor.

The Texas officer “abused his power” when he opened Bland’s door and grabbed a Taser during a traffic stop with the former Naperville, Ill. resident, said Perkins, who chairs the criminal justice, political science and philosophy department at Chicago State University.

Perkins and several other experts believe state trooper Brian T. Encinia, went too far in how he handled the 28-year-old woman during the traffic stop.

Bland eventually was arrested and found dead in her cell three days later on July 13.

“When I saw this case, I was heartbroken,” said Perkins, an ex-president of the Cook County Bar Association. “Sandra did not have to die.”

In the controversial police dash-cam footage, Encinia pulled over Bland for failing to signal while changing lanes.

He quickly commented on her attitude, saying she seemed “irritated.” Bland responded that she changed lanes because his squad car got close to her. She also complained to the officer about getting a ticket.

In the footage, Encinia asked Bland to stop smoking a cigarette. She asked why, since she was in her own car. He later opened Bland’s door, ordered her out of her car and pulled out a Taser.

“I’ll light you up,” Encinia said in the video.

“The officer was the one who escalated the situation,” Perkins said. “He was the one who said ‘I am going to light you up.’”

Cedric Alexander, former president of the North American Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, agrees with Perkins.

“He didn’t follow procedures,” said Alexander, public safety director of DeKalb County, Ga. “They are supposed to be trained to handle people who are difficult.”

At the same time, Alexander said Bland should have simply complied with the officer.

“She should have put out the cigarette,” Alexander said.

Walter Farrell, who is currently an expert witness in two death penalty cases in Texas, said Encinia “was too aggressive.”

“He should have never escalated the situation,” said Farrell, a retired social work professor at the University of North Carolina.

Waller County, Texas, the site of the traffic stop, has a history of racial problems, said Farrell, who also formerly taught at Prairie View A&M University, the school Bland once attended.

“It is very, very conservative,” Farrell said.

Farrell said he is waiting to see how the officer, who has been on the force for a year, is disciplined.

Encinia was placed on administrative leave for violating unspecified police procedures and the state’s Department of Public Safety courtesy policy.

“Regardless of the situation – doesn’t matter where it happens – a DPS state trooper has got an obligation to exhibit professionalism and be courteous. . . and that wasn’t the case in this situation,” Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said in an Associate Press story.

Encinia arrested Bland for alleged assault of an officer.

The trooper claimed that after handcuffing her for becoming combative, she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his shin, according to news reports.

Bland was found dead hanging in her jail cell. A preliminary autopsy found her injuries consistent with suicide.

Her family has said Bland wouldn’t take her life.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin wants a complete investigation of the death.

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