Attorneys representing Sandra Bland’s family say they’ve settled the wrongful death lawsuit filed after Bland’s 2015 death in a Hempstead, Texas jail.
The suit against the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County jail was settled for a combined total of $1.9 million—Texas Department of Public Safety will pay $100,000 and the Waller County jail will pay $1.8 million.
Bland, a black woman, became widely known after she was arrested after being stopped for failing to signal a lane change in July 2015.
The officer later said he intended to only give Bland a written warning, but changed his mind because she was uncooperative.
Three days after being taken to jail she was founded dead in her cell—the medical examiner ruled it a suicide, alleging she used a plastic garbage bag.
Her family has maintained that she was killed by someone in the jail and would not have committed suicide.
The settlement addresses Bland’s death while in police custody as well as changes to jail procedures in Waller County.
Some of the changes include automated electronic sensors to ensure cell checks, an on-duty nurse or EMT at all times and additional funds for jail intaking, inmate screening and training for police there.
