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July 28, 2015      5:46 PM

Pointed questions expected in Texas House hearing on death of Sandra Bland

“We’re actually going to talk about it for what it is,” Chairman Coleman said. "Black people are sick and tired of this. I’m sick and tired of this.”

Expect Rep. Garnet Coleman to have some pointed questions about race when the House County Affairs Committee convenes on Thursday.

Chairman Coleman, D-Houston, has called on a panel to testify that includes Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw, Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith and Executive Director Brandon Woods of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to discuss the death of Sandra Bland in the Waller County Jail on July 13. Coleman’s committee will convene in Austin on Thursday afternoon.

Coleman is best known as an advocate for health care and mental health. He negotiated funding for mental health services for indigent care in jails. In this case, however, Coleman’s real questions are for the county leaders who would have had some role in the Bland case, including the sheriff and district attorney.

“We’re actually going to talk about it for what it is,” Coleman said on Tuesday afternoon. “There is a racial component to this. People don’t get it. Black people are sick and tired of this. I’m sick and tired of this.”

By Kimberly Reeves