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Brian Encinia, the Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, has officially been fired by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Brian Encinia can still appeal against the decision, which came after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of perjury in December.
He was accused of lying about the July 2015 arrest of Sandra Bland after a confrontational traffic stop was recorded on dashcam video.
Encinia met Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw last month, but did not provide him with a reason “to alter my preliminary decision”, according to a termination letter signed by Encinia on Wednesday.
His lawyer, Larkin Eakin, has previously called the indictment unjustified and said Encinia was looking out for his own safety.
Ms Bland’s family sued after the 28-year-old died in jail following her arrest on the outskirts of Houston last summer.
Her death was ruled a suicide.
The case triggered national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Brian Encinia had been on paid desk duty since Ms Bland’s arrest and remained on the payroll after Mr McCraw announced in December that the process of firing him had begun.
The footage from Encinia’s patrol car showed the traffic stop becoming confrontational, with the trooper drawing his stun gun and telling Ms Bland “I will light you up” after she refused to get out of the car.
She eventually got out of the vehicle and Encinia ordered her to the side of the road, where the confrontation continued off-camera.
Ms Bland was arrested for assault and taken to Waller County jail. Three days later, she was found dead in her cell.
Her family has said they were working to get $500 to pay for her bail when they learned of her death.
Agencies/Canadajournal
