Nearly two years after Brian Encinia's roadside shouting match with motorist Sandra Bland went viral and contributed to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, all charges against the fired Texas State Trooper have been dropped, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Encinia had been charged with perjury for lying on his police report about the confrontation with Bland, who was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change in the small town of Hemphill, northwest of Houston, in July of 2015. Encinia was later fired for his conduct during the event.
Bland later killed herself in the Waller County Jail.State Rep Garnet Coleman (D-Houston), who sponsored the Sandra Bland Act, to improve mental health care at Texas county jails and to encourage police to take 'de-escalation training,' said he was not pleased that Encinia is now a free man.
"No one is above the law," Coleman told News Radio 1200 WOAI. "The only positive to come out of this is he can no longer be a peace officer in Texas."
One of the conditions of the dismissal is that Encinia give up his law enforcement license.
Chip Lewis, Encinia's attorney, said dismissal of the charge 'was the right thing to do.'
"The Encinias will remain forever grateful to their family, friends and members of the law enforcement community for all their support,” he said in a statement.
Bland's family also filed a civil lawsuit against the state, Waller County, and Encinia.
IMAGE; WALLER COUNTY JAIL