Texas Gov. #GregAbbott signed the #SandraBlandAct into law Thursday, in what was supposed to be a decisive move to address the issues that led to Bland’s death. As the #TexasTribune notes, the act obligates county jails to channel individuals with #mentalhealth and substance abuse issues toward treatment, and to make it easier for those with #mentalillness or #disability to get bond. The law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, will also require independent law-enforcement agencies to investigate jail deaths, and require that officers receive de-escalation training. However, the act was notoriously stripped of key provisions that specifically addressed police encounters. Provisions so crucial given that Bland, a black woman, somehow wound up dead in a county jail after being arrested over what was meant to be a routine traffic stop. Bland, 28, had just moved from #Chicago to start a new job in Texas when state Trooper #BrianEncinia pulled her over in #WallerCounty, #Texas, for failing to signal. The encounter quickly escalated when Bland refused to put out her cigarette. Video footage of the encounter showed that Encinia then ordered her out of her vehicle. Bland again refused, at which point Encinia threatened to “yank” her out of her car, and ultimately threatened to “light [her] up” while pointing his Taser at her. In the end, Bland was arrested and locked up. Three days after her arrest, she was found dead in her jail cell, with her death ruled a suicide. The #TexasSenate version of the bill by state Sen. #JohnWhitmire of #Houston removed provisions that would have required additional proof for stopping and searching vehicles and prevented arrests over offenses that could be handled by a fine. As the Tribune puts it, the bill in that moment mostly became a mental-health bill, which easily made its way through the Senate and the House of Representatives, without opposition. Still, lawmakers insist that the law is a good first step. Democratic state Rep. #GranetColeman of Houston, who introduced the original, eventually gutted, bill, wrote in a statement after Abbott signed it, saying that the law increases public safety. #Speakin4Myself
