Texas trooper indicted over Sandra Bland stop formally fired

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas trooper indicted over his arrest of a black woman who was later found dead in jail has been formally fired, three months after his bosses first announced they would do so, state officials said Wednesday.

Former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia can still appeal the decision to fire him, which came after a grand jury indicted him on a perjury charge in December.

The case provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement, with protesters linking Bland to other black suspects who died in confrontations with police or while in police custody.

A grand jury last month tied its perjury indictment of Encinia to his statement in an affidavit where he said Bland was "combative and uncooperative" after he stopped her and that he removed her from her car to further conduct a safer traffic investigation.