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(Houston Chronicle) The family of Sandra Bland - who died while in custody at the Waller County Jail - has reached a tentative $1.9 million out-of-court settlement with state and county officials that could bring statewide changes to rural jails across Texas.
The tentative settlement - reached late Wednesday - calls for Waller County to pay $1.8 million and the Texas Department of Public Safety to pay $100,000, according to San Antonio attorney Tom Rhodes, one of three lawyers who represented Bland's mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, in the federal lawsuit filed in Houston.
The settlement would need approval of state officials and Waller County commissioners before being finalized, officials said.
Waller County's attorney Larry Simmons issued a statement Thursday saying that final details were still being worked out and that the county agreed that all details would be confidential until finalized.
The settlement does not include any admission of fault or wrongdoing, he said.
The tentative settlement calls for jail reforms not just in Waller County but in other rural jails in Texas, a move that would require action by state lawmakers.
Any bill passed by legislators would bear Sandra Bland's name, according to terms of the settlement.
In July 2015, DPS Trooper Brian Encinia arrested Bland during a questionable traffic stop, alleging she had assaulted him. Three days later, the 28-year-old woman committed suicide while in the Waller County Jail.
Bland's mother filed the federal lawsuit against against Waller County, several county officials and two jailers, and DPS Trooper Brian Encinia.
Under terms of the settlement released Thursday, changes would be required for both DPS and Waller County.
- The DPS has agreed to provide de-escalation training for all current and former troopers statewide.
- Waller County would be required to have a nurse or emergency technician at the jail round-the-clock, and would set up a tele-medicine system so that inmates could be screened by physicians face-to-face, Rhodes said.
- The county also would be required to set up sensors to validate cell checks electronically, he said.
- State representatives would be asked to work together to draft legislation in Bland's name to require similar changes in other rural jails.
Simmons said in the statement that the terms of the settlement would go before commissioners for approval. He said the county would be required to pay only a $1,000 deductible but did not provide additional details about whether a county insurance policy might pick up the bulk of the settlement.
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