Police officer who arrested Sandra Bland indicted on perjury charges

Prosecutors said they believe Trooper Brian Encinia lied to investigators about his actions during the arrest

Protesters rally after Sandra Bland's death (Christian K Lee/Associated Press)

The Texas state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, the Chicago woman who was found dead in police custody three-days later, has been charged with perjury.

Trooper Brian Encinia was indicted by a grand jury after investigators claimed he lied about his actions during the arrest.

Just hours after the charges were announced, the Texas Department of Safety said that Trooper Encinia's "termination proceedings" would begin to "discharge him from the department."

Mr Encinia was previously placed on desk duty after the woman's death on July 13, 2015.

An image taken from dash-cam footage of Sandra Bland's arrest Texas Department of Public Safety (EPA)

Ms Bland, 28, was returning to Texas to begin working a job at her alma mater Prairie View A&M. She was pulled her over by Trooper Encinia in a routine traffic stop in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, for failing to use her traffic signal.

Video footage from the dashboard camera of the police vehicle shows the officer yelling "I will light you up" before a confrontation between the officer and the young woman ensues.

Ms Bland was found hanged in a Waller County jail cell three days later. Police said she had taken her own life, a claim that was rejected by the young woman’s family.

The young women's death sparked outcry nationwide and arguably brought the most attention to the death of a black woman in police custody during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Last month, a grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the state trooper and jail officials in the case.

Geneva Reed-Veal, Ms Bland’s mother, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Department of Public Safety, Waller County and the involved jail employees. A hearing is scheduled to begin in January 2017.