AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas police-reform bill named after a black woman found dead in jail following a confrontation with a white state trooper during a traffic stop has been stripped down to the point that some community organizers say it’s no longer a worthy tribute.
The death of Sandra Bland in 2015 was a national flashpoint in the Black Lives Matter movement: a 28-year-old woman stopped near Houston for not signaling a lane change, forcibly pulled from her car and found dead in jail days later.
Yet the version of “The Sandra Bland Act” entering the home stretch of the Texas Legislature is no longer a sweeping list of police reforms as originally filed. It’s much slimmer than the wide-ranging accountability package first proposed, following opposition from powerful law enforcement groups and Republicans.
Now some black community leaders are suggesting Bland’s name should even be stripped from the bill if key provisions aren’t restored before reaching the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
“That’s disrespectful to her and her family,” said Ashton Woods, a Black Lives Matter organizer in Houston who helped Democrats unveil the original bill and says he keeps in touch with the Bland family. “I would definitely request they not use her name and go another route.”
By any measure, the original bill would have changed policing in Texas by requiring a higher burden of proof for stopping and searching vehicles, counseling and training for officers who racially profile drivers. It also would have banned arrests over offenses that are punishable by a fine.
But the pared-down version unanimously passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday is what Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire assured colleagues was “a mental health and awareness piece of legislation.” Remaining are provisions that mandate more mental health training for jailers, heightened supervision of inmates and improved mental health care access. It would also require more de-escalation training for officers.
