Texas denies its has reached a settlement with family of Sandra Bland

The family of Sandra Bland, found dead in a Waller County jail cell in July 2015, settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the jail and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) last week. The dollar amount of the settlement was $1.9 million, with the bulk of it coming from the jail facility. According to the family’s attorney, in addition to the monetary settlement there were also conditions that were agreed to be met:

… provide emergency nurses for all shifts; use automated electronic sensors to ensure accurate and timely cell checks; and actively seek the passage of additional state funds for jail intaking, inmate screening, training and additional jail support. Any legislation passed which benefits Waller County must be named in Sandra Bland's honor, Reed-Veal says.

But according to Talking Points Memo, Texas DPS officials say there is no specified settlement agreement between the department and Bland’s family:

... DPS Director Steve McCraw on Tuesday defended what he described as 76 hours of existing training designed to help recruits de-escalate volatile situations.

Tom Rhodes, a San Antonio-based attorney for the Bland family, said DPS agreed to de-escalation training during settlement talks. He added, however, that the purported settlement did not spell out how comprehensive that training must be.

"They admitted they didn't have that systematic training, certainly not on a statewide basis," Rhodes said of the settlement talks. He said the deal was expected to become finalized in the coming days.

[...]

DPS said in a statement that in addition to training that has already been required for new recruits, the agency this year also mandated that troopers complete an 8-hour de-escalation course provided by the Texas Police Association.

"We've done cultural training, we've done escalation training throughout the department," McCraw said. "In 1977, my partner was teaching about de-escalation and techniques. But formalizing it, institutionalizing it is important."

De-escalation is sorely needed in police departments across the country, but there should also be mandated training in how not to be an asshole, as in the case of Brian Encinia, the officer who assaulted and then wrongfully arrested Bland.