Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop.

After authorities reviewed the dashcam footage, Encinia was placed on administrative leave for failing to follow proper traffic stop procedures.

[8] In December 2015, a grand jury declined to indict the county sheriff and jail staff for a felony relating to Bland's death.

The following month, Encinia was indicted for perjury for making false statements about the circumstances surrounding Bland's arrest, and he was subsequently fired by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

[9] In September 2016, Bland's mother settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the county jail and police department for $1.9 million and some procedural changes.

She attended Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois and graduated in 2005, then Prairie View A&M University outside Hempstead in Waller County, Texas, where she was a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

[14][15] At Prairie View, she was recruited as a summer counselor for three years, played in the marching band, and volunteered for a senior citizens advocacy group.

[2] He began following Bland in Prairie View, Texas on the afternoon of July 10, 2015, where he pulled her over on University Drive[22] for failure to signal a lane change.

[5] A Houston television station states it obtained a voice message left by Bland after her arrest in which she asked, "How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?

According to a statement from the jail officials, she had been given multiple opportunities to find someone who could post bond including a man she was staying with in Texas who "ignored her calls".

They said the footage was being released to dispel rumors and conspiracy theories, including that she was dead before she arrived at the jail and that her mug shot was taken after her death.

[37] Alexandria Pyle, an inmate held in the adjacent cell, later told the media that Bland seemed "sort of distraught", was very emotional, and was crying frequently.

[39] The video shows no movement in and out of the cell from 7:34 to 9:07 a.m., her discovery by a female officer at that time, and resuscitation procedures being performed on Bland's body.

[31] An autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science concluded that Bland died through asphyxiation, and classified her death as a suicide.

Waller County assistant district attorney, Warren Diepraam said that it was more likely that Bland had ingested a very large amount of marijuana prior to her arrest.

"[43][44] Other experts disputed the significance of a single test result from a sample taken after death, explaining that marijuana science is not well-developed and that county officials may have been exaggerating the importance of Bland's THC blood level, which Columbia University researcher Carl Hart said was similar to the baseline blood level of a heavy marijuana user.

Cannon Lambert, the family's lawyer, stated that Bland's March post gave little indication of her mindset around the time of her death.

"[34] Bland's death resulted in protests, and calls for investigation by family, friends and others including Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).

[3] Eric Zorn, writing for the Chicago Tribune, criticized Encinia for his handling of the traffic stop, calling him a "petty tyrant" and referring to his "Are you done?"

Even when they're acting like bullies, goading you or issuing you preposterous orders like to put out your cigarette as you sit in your own car, don't challenge their authority. ... Comply.

"[54] On August 13, about 25 heavily armed members of the New Black Panther Party rallied at a Texas jail to protest Bland's death and expressed their rage at police.

[55] In late August, the Prairie View City Council renamed part of University Drive as Sandra Bland Parkway.

Encinia was placed on administrative duties for violating procedures for traffic stops,[5][18] and was terminated by DPS following his indictment on perjury charges.

[34] After a white male prisoner hanged himself with a bedsheet in 2012, Texas state inspectors had also cited procedural failings by Waller County Jail's staff.

[64] R. Glenn Smith, the Waller County sheriff, stated that the jail staff may face disciplinary actions for their failures of not putting Bland on a suicide watch, not personally checking on her, and leaving the plastic bag that was fashioned into a noose.

[71] Those aspects were widely assumed to include Encinia's actions during the traffic stop, and Bland's family urged prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against him.

[72] Reconvening the following month, the grand jury indicted Encinia for perjury, a Class A misdemeanor with a possible penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

[78] Texas Senate Bill 1849, also known as the Sandra Bland Act, went into effect on September 1, 2017, and mandated change to corrections and police policy when dealing with those with substance abuse or mental health concerns.

1849 "requires de-escalation training for police officers and mandates county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment, makes it easier for defendants to receive a personal bond if they have a mental illness or intellectual disability, and requires that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths".

[81] In 2018, filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner released the HBO documentary film Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland.