The Texas lawmakers who led the Sandra Bland Act are pushing to reinstate the police reforms stripped from their original bill
The lawmakers said they are acting in response to the death of former Houston resident George Floyd. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand near an overpass on Interstate 35 to prevent protesters from blocking traffic during a rally at Austin police headquarters.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
A measure to limit arrests for non-jailable offenses passed the House after a great struggle. It still died.
Behind closed doors, a joint Senate and House committee killed a measure that would require police officers to explain why they arrest someone for fine-only offenses, otherwise the case would be dismissed. Criminal justice reform advocates considered the issue a priority following the arrest of Sandra Bland. Full Story
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![State Troopers stop civilian on Congress Ave. in Austin, TX on Feb. 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmaker grills Department of Public Safety over disclosure of Sandra Bland cellphone video
State Rep. Garnet Coleman suggested that the newly released video showing some of Bland's confrontation with a state trooper before her death may have been buried in a “data dump” of information given to lawyers and lawmakers. Full Story
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![Memorial for Sandra Bland in Prairie View, the town where she was arrested. Bland was later found dead in her jail cell. The street has been re-named in her honor.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Advocates say a Texas House bill could prevent arrests like Sandra Bland's, but multiple attempts to pass it failed
A measure to limit arrests for misdemeanors that only result in fines initially got House approval. Then it failed on a subsequent vote amid what some say was confusion over what the bill would do. Lawmakers tried to revive it Friday evening — after several lawmakers had left the chamber — but that attempt also failed. Full Story
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![Sandra Bland.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
New cellphone video shows what Sandra Bland saw during arrest by Texas trooper
The family of Sandra Bland — who died in a Waller County jail cell — is calling for a reopening of the criminal investigation into Bland's arrest and death after seeing footage for the first time. Full Story
![Memorial for Sandra Bland in Prairie View, the town where she was arrested. Bland was later found dead in her jail cell. The street has been re-named in her honor.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Trooper fired for Sandra Bland stop: "My safety was in jeopardy."
Former Texas Department of Safety Trooper Brian Encinia says he feared for his personal safety after pulling over Sandra Bland in Waller County on July 21, 2015. Full Story
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![Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia]()
Credit: Waller County Sheriff's Office -
Trump slow to fill judicial seats in Texas (video)
All four U.S. attorney seats, 11 district judgeships and two slots on the historically conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sit open. Full Story
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Perjury charge dropped against trooper who arrested Sandra Bland
Brian Encinia, the ex-trooper who arrested Sandra Bland in 2015, has had his perjury charge dropped. The prosecution moved to dismiss the charge after Encinia agreed to give up his police license. Full Story
![Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia]()
Credit: Waller County Sheriff's Office -
Prairie View A&M names former head of Brown interim president
Ruth Simmons, the longtime president of Brown University, has been named interim president of Prairie View A&M University. Full Story
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![Ruth Simmons is the newly-named interim president of Prairie View A&M.]()
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Texas Gov. Abbott signs "Sandra Bland Act" into law
The measure mandates county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment and requires that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths. Full Story
Credit: Kee Creation -
Texas House sends Sandra Bland Act to governor
The bill would mandate that county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment, make it easier for defendants with a mental illness or intellectual disability to receive a personal bond and require that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths. Full Story
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![Sandra Bland, who was found dead at the Waller County Jail in 2015.]()
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Despite Bland family's complaints, House unlikely to beef up Sandra Bland Act
The House sponsor of the Senate's Sandra Bland Act won't try to change the bill's language, after key provisions were taken out in the upper chamber. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, announces the Sandra Bland Act at a press conference at the Capitol on March 2, 2017. Those looking on behind him include state Reps. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, and Eric Johnson, D-Dallas.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
"Sandra Bland Act" doesn't address cause of her arrest, family says
The legislation now mostly focuses on mental health issues and county jail operations. Full Story
Credit: Kee Creation -
Texas Senate passes Sandra Bland Act
The bill would mandate that county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment, make it easier for defendants with a mental illness or intellectual disability to receive a personal bond and require that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths. Full Story
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![State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, talks about the Sandra Bland Act, which would reform interactions between jailers and inmates with mental health issues on May 11, 2017. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
After police shoot and kill unarmed teen, Texas lawmakers consider next steps
In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of an unarmed 15-year-old by police on Saturday night, Democrats in the state Capitol have pointed to relevant bills they say could prevent similar deaths. Full Story
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![15-year-old Mesquite High School freshman Jordan Edwards (left) was shot and killed by Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver on April 29, 2017.]()
Credit: Mesquite High School yearbook/Facebook -
Sandra Bland Act gets nod from Texas Senate panel
The legislation would mandate that county jails route people with mental health crises and substance abuse issues to treatment and install electronic sensors or cameras to better monitor inmates. Full Story
![Sandra Bland, who was found dead at the Waller County Jail in 2015.]()
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Sandra Bland's mother urges House committee to pass bill named after her daughter
The Sandra Bland Act would require law enforcement agencies to document the race and ethnicity of drivers they stop, divert some people to treatment instead of jail and require more training and reporting for county jails and law enforcement officials. Full Story
![Sandra Bland, who was found dead at the Waller County Jail in 2015.]()
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Senate passes bill requiring schools to teach teens about interacting with police
The proposal – which would affect high school students, new drivers and police officers – passed the chamber unanimously and now heads to the House. Full Story
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![An Austin Independent School District police vehicle sits outside of McCallum High School in Austin, on Dec. 28, 2012.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Senate panel OKs bill requiring schools to teach teens about interacting with police
The proposal, Senate Bill 30, is a bipartisan response to deadly encounters between law enforcement and civilians seen in recent years throughout the country. Full Story
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Sandra Bland Act would change processes for law enforcement, jails
The bill's proposals include limiting police searches during stops, adding reporting requirements for racial profiling and creating an independent ombudsman to monitor inmates' rights and services. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, announces the Sandra Bland Act at a press conference at the Capitol on March 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune
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