Hillary Clinton is in Chicago on Wednesday to court the minority vote and use the suicide of a young black woman in a Texas jail to do so. The mother of Sandra Bland is expected to join her at the rally in a Bronzeville, Illinois, neighborhood.
ABC7 in Chicago, Illinois reported that Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland’s mother, would be joining Clinton at the rally. Clinton reportedly said, “We have to face up to the hard truth of injustice and systemic racism.” Reed-Veal is from Naperville, Illinois.
Sandra Bland was the black woman who killed herself in a Waller County, Texas, jail three days after being arrested by a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper.
Breitbart Texas has extensively covered the Sandra Bland case and the fallout from Waller County, Texas.
Breitbart Texas reported that Trooper Brian Encinia stopped Bland after she ran a stop sign in front of him and then changed lanes without signaling. According to the dashcam video released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the trooper told Bland the reason for the stop was the improper lane change. He said he was about to give her a warning ticket. The situation escalated after Bland refused to put her cigarette out per the officer’s instructions. At one point, Officer Encinia told the young woman that he was going to “light” her up with a Taser.
Bland’s death in the jail was ruled a suicide by a Harris County, Texas (Houston) medical examiner.
The response to Clinton using Sandra Bland’s mother has been critical.
The trooper, Brian Encinia, was indicted on a misdemeanor charge of perjury in January by a grand jury in Waller County, Breitbart Texas reported.
In December, Breitbart Texas reported that the grand jury had declined to indict the Waller County Sheriff or his staff.
After Officer Encina’s indictment this January, forty members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the conduct of the Texas Department of Public Safety and officials at the Waller County jail, as reported by Breitbart Texas.
The Texas incident has been out-front in the national media and in social media. It has also been used politically by Democrats and activists like #BlackLivesMatter groups.
As reported by Breitbart Texas in August 2015, Sandra Bland’s mother filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of herself and Bland’s estate. The lawsuit was filed in a Houston federal court according to court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas. The Bland family has been criticized for not bailing Bland out of jail.
The local ABC affiliate in Chicago reports that this is the second time during this presidential campaign that Clinton will make a stop at the Parkway Ballroom in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The outlet also reports that she will attend private fundraisers in the area after the rally.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter@LanaShadwick2
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