Texas Senate Passes Stripped-Down 'Sandra Bland Act' Setting Police Detention Guidelines

AUSTIN, TX — Overcoming robust opposition from Republicans and police groups, the Texas Senate on Thursday approved legislation to enhance mental-health training for jailers toward preventing inmate suicide—the so-called "Sandra Bland Act" named after a woman found dead after being jailed following a traffic stop.

But the legislation ultimately passed is a pared-down version of the original bill that called for more sweeping changes to take place at the state's jails. Instead, the passed measure makes it more of a "mental health in jails bill" that removes provisions that would've changed police stops protocol seemingly distilled in an attempt to placate strong opposition from Republican lawmakers and police advocates.

The stripped-down version of the bill solely mandates additional mental health training for jailers aimed at deescalation cases involving mental health issues among detainees. In its original iteration, the bill also would have changed the manner in which police interact with those they stop, prohibiting officers from conducting a search with a person's consent unless they first alert them of their right to refuse or to comply with such requests. Verbal consent on searches would have been recorded by the officer's body camera or dashcam.

Instead, the pared-down version focuses on treatment of detainees once jailed by mandating the routing of people with mental health and substance abuse issues to treatment facilities as part of the protocol.

Sen. John Whitmire, a Democrat from Houston who authored the bill, acknowledged the distillation of his original ill, but said the approved version still is likely to prevent future tragedies.

"When you deny someone their liberty, you have the responsibility to take care of them," Whitmire told the Houston Chronicle, noting that 16 jail inmates have committed suicide in Texas this year alone.

"These people who go to jail, many for very minor offenses, are our constituents," Whitmire told the newspaper. "This legislation is a preventive measure—a mental-health awareness and prevention bill that I think will go a long way to prevent future tragedies."

The bill passed on 31-0 despite vocal opposition to it from some camps. A similar measure by Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat, died in committee in the face of strong opposition from police groups, who carry considerable political clout at the Capitol, the Chronicle noted.

The Sandra Bland Act is named after the 28-year-old woman from Illinois arrested on a minor traffic violation in 2015 who later committed suicide in the Waller County jail. The incident commanded national headlines and sparked protests nationwide related to jail protocol in dealing with suicidal inmates. The case also led to a lawsuit by Bland's family members, who were awarded a $1.9 million court settlement from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The bill next goes to the House for consideration of final approval. Earlier this week, the bill secured approval of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee which set it up for Thursday's vote in the chamber.

>>> Photo of Sandra Bland via GoFundMe legal fund page.