Courtesy of CNN:
The family of Sandra Bland, whose death in a Texas jail has boiled over after newly released video showed what happened at a routine traffic stop, expressed anger Wednesday at what they said was further proof that Bland was unnecessarily arrested.
Bland, who authorities say hanged herself in her jail cell, was not clinically diagnosed with depression or on any medication and was "ecstatic" at the prospect of starting a new job at her alma mater in Texas, family attorney Cannon Lambert said at a press conference Wednesday.
"Why is it that a 28 year old woman who had received two job offers take her own life? Why would she call her mom in excitement about those jobs and take her own life?" Lambert asked.
"That just does not jive with someone who would take their own life," he added.
Sharon Cooper, Bland's sister and a spokeswoman for her family, the family was "infuriated" by the actions of the officer who arrested Bland, as seen on the trooper's dash-cam video.
I have kind of kept my powder dry on this story, waiting for this video along with more evidence to emerge.
Now that it has I feel confident in saying that none of this makes any sense.
That woman may have been labeled disrespectful in her response to the police officer, but he was downright abusive. And her attitude in fighting back, and exclamation of wanting to have her day in court, certainly does not suggest the mindset of a person who would take their own life only days later.
This thing stinks to high heaven and I am quite glad that the inquiry into what happened is being treated like a murder investigation.
Update: If you think the dashboard video is bad, take a look at the transcript.
As I recall, the Palins acted worse than this in the presence of the police after that drunken brawl. One person's disrespect is another person's exercising her constitutional rights. Something called free speech.
ReplyDeleteYou're right +1000
DeleteShe did not kill herself. In the video she says she wants her day in court. They tazed her and then hung her by a plastic bag. This is Bullshit, jackbooted thugs! I'm sick of this shit. They say that mofo cop pulled all his shit offline.
Deletefollow @deray on twitter for the latest...Steph Miller is talking about it this morning. Everyone is saying there was no cause for arrest in the first place.
The Palin klan should have been tazed during the Anchorage brawl. Specifically, Sarah, Todd and Bristol. Assholes every one of them!
DeleteLoved the audio that the Anchorage Police Department actually released regarding the brawl! All of them can be heard - nasty mouths and all!
They truly are ridiculous pieces of humanity and an embarrassment to Anchorage and Alaska!
She killed herself 6:49.
DeleteGet with the program.
It is sad, but she killed herself, and she obviously had problems with composure.
She stated she had epilepsy, and the officer really banged her head hard. I suspect they will find either a hematoma or a grand mal seizure is what killed her and the jail tried to cover it up with "hanged herself with a plastic garbage bag". They use cheap ass clear plastic bags in jail and they wouldn't take the weight of a person to hang themselves...
DeleteLol 10:20....
DeleteLooking to believe anything but the hard truth.
@10:36
DeleteSo, where did you find this "hard truth" before the release of the forensic evidence. You didn't happen to just fantasize something and label it "hard truth" did you?
Well 10:20, this banging her head thing real hard doesn't appear on any of the video, other than Sandra screaming it at the cop while calling the cop a pussy. And from the cause of death, it looks like there was no seizure or hematoma either that you were so sure of... there was some semi healed cut marks from weeks ago, as apparently she was a cutter, and some marks on her wrists from the cuffs.... but other than that there were only the neck marks from suicide- ruled as the cause of death. She was a troubled lady unfortunately. And for some reason her family did not seem to want to deal with sending $500 bail. She was from suburban Chicago, middle class town, I know the town... they have $500. Sorry bud. Better luck next time pushing a false narrative on a black death!
DeleteAll these police-inflicted deaths of blacks are Organized Murders and as evil as Organized Religious/Extremists ones -- KKK, Taliban, ISIS, Al Qaeda etc. The Christian Right's murders are more pernicious -- young minds gradually filled with the delusional garbage they are sinners from Day One -- and there is no reckoning there, either
ReplyDelete-- yet.
"One good thing," he says, "it's on video."
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? He took her out of range of the vid-cam.
Those guys know to an inch just how far to take a "suspect" so the police brutality won't show. The voice record, I hope, is enough to indicate the (several by the end) cops' force. They call it the "the police force" for a reason...they think they can use it on anyone.
Good point. Remember the two reporters who got arrested at the McDonalds in Ferguson? Cops were yelling stop resisting even tho they weren't. In NJ, guy almost went to jail because from the dash am vid in the squad car behind his car, u can hear the cop telling him to stop resisting and quit going for his gun. His lawyer finally got the video from a squad car that through the windshield and his hands were up the whole time. And the cops got arrested
DeleteThere is a second video taken by a bystander of the cop slamming her into the ground. When the cop realized he was being filmed he yelled at the bystander to stop filming...
DeleteYes. Just as the first cop asked the female officer "did you see it, you saw it, right?" (re. Sandra kicking him or lashing out at him...) Of course the female officer immediately said "yes, oh yes !!" regarding something that supposedly happened before she even arrived ! They are so dirty - just watching out for eachother.
DeleteThe video by the bystander does NOT show her being 'slammed to the ground' as you lie. It shows her already on the ground being detained by two officers, and being combative and argumentative.
DeleteIf you read the statement below by the Texas DPS, they go into detail that this innocent woman kicked the Texas trooper. At no time in the video do you hear the trooper responding to a kick either with a grunt or telling Sandra Bland don't kick or assault me.
ReplyDeleteThere's an additional video taken by a bystander at the website below. The officer told the guy who was videotaping the scene to leave. The guy was not close to the altercation, he was at a distance taping it. Why was the officer afraid of that was getting taped?
"Video taken by a bystander of Bland's July 10 arrest shows her complaining that officers had slammed her head into the ground"
Slate.com:
Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled Bland over Friday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. near Prairie View A&M after changing lanes without signaling, according to Trooper Erik Burse, a spokesman for the Public Safety Department. The trooper ordered her out of the car because she was argumentative and uncooperative, he said, adding that she was about to be issued a written warning when she kicked the trooper who had pulled her over. At that point, she was arrested and charged with assault on a public servant. In a video of the arrest, Bland complained of police slamming her head against the ground and being unable to hear. She was held on a $5,000 bond, according to records from the Waller County District Clerk's Office.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/07/16/sandra_bland_death_texas_black_driver_pulled_over_for_lane_change_dies_in.html
If drivers were all arrested and put in jail for changing lanes without using signals, there would be virtually no one out on the roads, including police cars, except for little old ladies like me. This was an arrest that should never have happened. Now the police are busy making up excuses and covering up. I hope that they do not get away with it! We've had enough of police cover-ups.
DeleteBeaglemom
This cop involved is a fucking liar! Hope they fire him from the force....he is NOT a GOOD cop!
DeleteExcept she wasn't arrested for changing lanes without using a turn signal, was she Beaglemom?
DeleteIf you don't want problems with the police, use your turn signal and if you are pulled over, be polite and cooperative. Don't ever argue with cops. Period. End of story.
DeleteIt's tragic that this woman ended up dead, but her own actions played a huge role in her problems. The cop clearly says he was planning to let her go with a warning, but her mouthing off to him escalated the situation. If you get pulled over and don't want a ticket, put your cigarette out before the cop even approaches your car. Sheesh. It's called good manners and common sense.
Of course not 9:00... She was pulled over for the offense of driving while black, and arrested for expressing exasperation for receiving a ticket/warning for such. Then she was knocked down for not acting properly deferential toward a white man instead of answering with the appropriate "Yes, Massa'."
DeleteStill wrong 9:38....and you know it. Always a race card with you guys. She was pulled over for a traffic violation, as is clear to everyone. She also blew thru a stop sign right in front of him- before the lane change, which is probably why he pulled up behind her to begin with.
DeleteThis lady had a long list of traffic violations, unpaid fines, and a DUI..... She probably should not even have had a license.
What do you mean by "you guys," 10:26? Racist much? So I must be black because I am defending a black, otherwise I would clearly find her in the wrong... For your information, I am Caucasian. And I know abuse of power when I see it. There was no excuse for this cop's behavior, and now a woman who did nothing criminal is dead. Do you really believe that her behavior warranted death? Get over your white privilege and open your eyes to what is happening in this country to your fellow human beings just because they have the "wrong" skin color.
DeleteBy you guys I mean a buch of dumb liberal caucasians 11:39.
DeleteI definitely think her behaviour warranted her arrest. She was arrested on a criminal complaint, assault of a public official and she also resisted arrest. Is this that hard for 'you stupid caucasian liberals' to understand?
There is no evidence in any of this to suggest skin color played any factor in getting pulled over or arrested, you just want it to be so.
9:27 "If you get pulled over and don't want a ticket, put your cigarette out before the cop even approaches your car."
DeleteYou must be crazy. NEVER, EVER let your hands be out of sight of the officer. Do not fiddle with cigarettes, your phone, your clothes, NOTHING!!!!! Because "I thought (s)he was reaching for a gun" can get you very, very dead in a simple traffic stop.
12:00 says "By you guys I mean a buch of dumb liberal caucasians"
DeleteNo problems, that sort wouldn't be interested in your rants anyway.
And why was she in jail for 3days?
ReplyDeleteBecause she wouldn't put out her cigarette.
DeleteBecause she was driving while black. Happens every day to thousands across the country.
DeleteCorrect answer: Because her bail had been set by the judge, $5000 (500) for assaulting the police officer, and her family apparently was in no rush to get her bail.
DeleteThe trooper ordered her out of the car because she was argumentative and uncooperative, he said,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/07/16/sandra_bland_death_texas_black_driver_pulled_over_for_lane_change_dies_in.html
The lie is the trooper ordered her out of the car for being uncooperative. The only thing we see that was being uncooperative was that Sandra Bland did not put her cigarette out while sitting in her car. At that point Sandra Bland was not under arrest and was only receiving a warning so why was it necessary to order Sanda Bland to put out her cigarette and why did the Texas trooper unecessarily escalate the situation?
Games men play:
Deleteinject emotion in an interaction to reaffirm superiority and get stimulation
Instead of saying "thank you, you can go now", the officer said "You seem a little irritated". That is the signal that he has started the game.
His game is to establish how bitchy and emotional females are while he strokes himself for being a superior unemotional male. He also wants an escalation because an emotional woman is a goldmine of STIMULATING experiences.
I worked in tech mostly with men, so I knew this game well.
With a superior, I respond with a toneless "I am fine" followed with "so we agree on 3 Ethernet segments and a bridge" or whatever to firmly anchor my technical credentials.
With co-workers and underlings, I respond with "3 weeks 'til my next menstruation, so not particularly bitchy today". Until some new guys are hired, no one in the building will ever again say to me something like "whoa, touchy today aren't you". The ick of bloody periods shuts men down fast.
Sandra Bland undoubtedly knew this game. (It starts around 5th grade on the playground.) But quite understandably she wasn't able to shut this guy down the way he deserved.
8:50 nice story and made up fantasy.
DeleteShe was legitimately pulled over. She was dumb enough to think she could win an escalating argument with a cop on the side of the road, and that berating him and calling him derogatory names would somehow help her situation. I watched the video, and I don't remember him calling her any names. She was also argumentative with the female officer who was attending to her.
Based on her behavior, it is likely the cop wanted to remove her from her vehicle because he was unsure whether she was in a state to operate a vehicle safely, whether intoxicated or not.
This is not to excuse the cops bedside manner, he did help her escalate- and there is no doubt he would have been better served to wait for backup. He did not like being challenged... but give me a break, who doesn't know it isn't a good idea to challenge a cop when you are under his/her detainment?
@8:35
DeleteNice stupid fantasy description of your interpretation of this traffic stop. It has no bearing however, on the type of game this officer was playing.
Keep trying, you might get on topic somehow.
She wasn't disrespectful until after she was forced out of the car and she knew she was going to get arrested, She obviously thought she was getting a ticket and not a warning I never knew you are supposed to be happy about being pulled over and getting a ticket.
ReplyDeleteShe was signing the ticket when he yanked her out of the car. She also wasn't disrespectful then, but clearly knew her rights were being violated. He had no right to touch her before telling her she was under arrest and what she was under arrest for.
DeleteThe mugshot photo is alarming. I have no medical training beyond basic first aid, but I've been around (big) horses for a long time. If I was at a stable or out on the trail, one look at that face and we'd be scrambling to get to the ER. Her eyes and general aspect look like trauma to me.
ReplyDeleteIt sickens me that Sandra Bland looked like that while being photographed and no one took her for a medical check.
She refused medial help.
DeleteYes, the booking photo definitely seemed off to me, especially the way her hair is falling backwards- almost as if she is laying instead of standing
Delete@9:30 ha ha ha
DeleteWhen there is risk of concussion or internal injury (her eyes are not looking good in that photo) the patient does NOT get the option to refuse a medical check. If patient continues to resist, then psych hold is what happens.
And, btw, how do you know Sandra Bland refused medical help AT the time that photo was taken? Because that is the point in time when officers should have observed that a medical check was required.
Amazingly, a policeman said that she mentioned having once tried to commit suicide. Gee, no one else mentioned that and the police did not put her on any kind of "suicide watch." And why was she put in jail anyway for such a minor infraction? I am glad this is being treated as a murder investigation because it sure looks like that it what it was.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
She was arrested for driving while black in red east Texas.
DeleteShe was on suicide watch and being checked every hour.
DeleteResisting arrest isn't a minor infraction.
Wrong 7:05. You libs and your racist fantasies.
DeleteReally? Where did u read that? Can u post the link? Only thing I could find was that over an hour and a half had passed from the last time they checked to when they found her
Delete@11:16
Delete"You libs and your racist fantasies"
Starting with "You libs" eliminates any possibility of being taken seriously. It's just too pathetically immature.
Well 12:14 the notion that this particualar stop had anything to do with 'driving while black' is totally ridiculous and not based on any evidence or video released to date.
DeleteAlthough it does show that Ms Bland has serious issues with the police doing their job.
12:24 says "anything to do with 'driving while black' is totally ridiculous"
DeleteWrong. Not ridiculous. Not totally ridiculous.
Nope. Not buying your race baiting 4:36.
DeleteThe country as a whole is starting to tire from this theme. She had a choice to act like an adult, instead she acted like a petulant child turned wacko. She brought this all on herself by not cooperating and then being combative.
@4:47
DeleteYour choice. Fantasy seems to appeal to you.
An MSN article quoted the police spokesperson as saying that it would be investigated as thoroughly as a murder but qualified that by also saying it wasn't considered a murder. WTF? I have no confidence in this "investigation" unless the feds step in.
ReplyDeleteWe all need to request that the feds get involved. Just look at the cases they are being pulled into to cover throughout the country. Something is horribly wrong with our police forces - too many racists, angry, ego driven, bad cops in our world.
DeleteChanges need to be made!
I know I'll never call for help from a cop in my community....honestly think a neighbor or family member will be much more helpful.
The more investigation and digging that is done.... the storyline is going to go very south for the deceased and her family. Bet on it.
DeleteThank God this was all caught on video! Another police abuse with a cop that lied on his report! (Already proven!)
ReplyDeleteIt's no wonder the police departments across our country are hated and disrespected. Too many 'bad' ones in their forces! I have a hard time thinking this cop would have handled a white woman in the same manner.
It would really be awful if it is proven they killed her in her cell. She doesn't sound like someone hell bent on committing suicide. Hope her family keeps fighting this issue and that it's not another black killing that gets pushed under the rug!
But the slamming/roughness was NOT caught on video
Delete-- he made her step out of its range before he put on the handcuffs and put in knee on her back.
I'm sure folks across the country have kept the first video that was released. The second one has a lot of edits. There is enough on record to get this cop. He's already been pulled to a desk.
DeletePeople (and, I'm sure the family/attorneys will) follow this case and this particular cop. I think he should be fired personally!
Man are there sick cops out there!
As a white woman, I would completely EXPECT to be treated like she was if I had been that rude and uncooperative to a police officer.
DeleteMe too. Sick of cops. May he rot and be played with by real criminals in jail.
DeleteI'm from Texas. You wouldn't have been pulled over in the first place. And that's just a fact down here
DeleteThere is video from this same cop's previous stop. A young white woman, with whom he exchanged pleasantries and gave a warning.
DeleteWhen did it become law that we-any of us have to be gracious and kind when pulled over by a police officer ? She explained she was irritated because he pulled her over-a very natural reaction! He asked her to put out her cigarette and though she didn't want to she did. There was no reason for him to have her get out of her car and it appeared to me she didn't want to get out because she was afraid to do so . Again- when did it become law that none of us are allowed to show irritability when pulled over by an officer? This whole thing stinks !!!! We don't know if it was suicide or not but I ask this-if she did answer yes to being asked if she attempted suicide previously why was there a garbage bag in her cell? What was she not watched? Uh huh...yep a lot of things are not adding up.
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, why was she held in jail for THREE DAYS?
ReplyDeleteWho the hell was in charge in this jail? Her bail was set at $5,000.
Why was there a hook in the cell? And a trash can liner? And religious propaganda? Have you seen that, Gryphen? Some brochures about "Find Jesus" right there in the cell for the people being held!!!!
They are releasing the surveillance video of the jail, and the sheriff deputies coming to the cell when she was found dead at 9am on the third day. How about more video of people coming and going from the cell area for the entire 3 days?
She tells the officer who pulled her over (and slams her head onto the ground) that she has epilepsy. Did she get her medication while being held in the jail?
What state was her license plate from? Can't tell from the video. But if they are out of state plates, is that why she was targeted? And then being a black woman just cinched it for the officer?
She says on the video that she moved into another lane for the officers patrol car to pass. She didn't signal, but there is very little traffic on this road, and I can't even see the markers for lanes.
The officer profiled her, and found a reason to pull her over. BUT if he already had his lights/siren on, why was he pulling her over? It can't be for the lane change without signaling, because she moved over for him and his lights/siren were already on, then!!!!! So what was the initial reason, before the lane change, which obviously happened after he turned his siren on.
GMA said this morning that the TX county medical examiner botched the autopsy and it will have to be re-done. Huh?
What happened? What condition is the body in, now? The family is ordering an independent autopsy, but the official TX one can't be used.
The video released yesterday has lots of editing in it. Time gaps, same car and tow truck driver passing by. Where is the entire video?
Why was she asked to get out of her car for such a minor infraction? The officer now claims he was only giving her a warning, but on the video she says "ticket" twice. So she thought she was getting a ticket, not a warning. Why would she be arrested and held for 3 days for a warning, if the officer is telling the truth?
This whole thing stinks, and I hope the family has really, really good lawyers. Evidence is disappearing quickly.
Wow. The stupid, it hurts.
DeleteThe big gap where the tow truck driver disappears and reappears along with a couple of cars is SO telling.
DeleteAlso too, why did three different cops do an intensive search of her car, what were they trying to find (or plant) in her car?
His authority was challenged. That pissed him off. He showed her.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt for one second being a cop is tough, but too many cops exhibit poor judgment. Recently I witnessed two drivers pulled over on McDonalds' properties. On both occasions, the cop positioned his car in such a way that other drivers could not get to the drive through without a great deal of maneuvering. It was as if the 'show' was what was important.
Not equating such a trivial incident with the Bland case, but merely pointing out that courtesy and good judgment go a long way toward influencing perception.
I stumbled upon the Cop Block vids on youtube and thought they were exaggerated or maybe staged a bit. This vid shows otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI was pulled over once for driving too close to the 'fog line' (so that's what the line on the edge of the road is). Not for reckless driving, weaving, possibly driving impaired. Just for driving a bit right of center. They'll ticket you for the most minor offense and threaten you with worse just because they can.
Did no one visit this poor woman while she was in jail? Was she able to make phone calls?
When she was discovered dead in her cell, it didn't seem to me that anyone was hurrying to help. I wouldn't be surprised if a rape had occurred and that caused her death, suicide or murder.
The arresting bully needs to be bullied, fired, and then harrassed by his former police buddies.
He never should have touched her car, let alone her.
I agree, the officer should be in jail, no pay, indicted. If there is a fair jury, set damages at 200 million! I for one am sick of these thugs!! They should do this kind of police service to real criminals! I ask satan he goes to jail and real criminals play with him.
ReplyDeleteMore coverup that is going to backfire.
ReplyDeleteNow the police are claiming she told them she had attempted suicide before.
So I ask...why was her cell not swept for anything that she could use to take her life. Plastic trashcan liner? Hello! She could asphixiate herself a lot easier than hanging. Women don't usually think of hanging. And if she was suicidal, then why wasn't she under observation and monitored a lot more often. It's supposed to be a big deal if a prisoner dies on your watch.
I'm thinking this was all staged and she was murdered. Probably by a group of officers. This bad ass cop went back to the station, told a revised and exagerated version of this "uppity black bitch that doesn't know her place" and decided they would teach her a lesson. Maybe assumed since she couldn't make bail there was no one that would notice, care or object to what they did to her.
I for one am NOT buying anything they say. Especially after that video.
I'll bet that female office turns on her partner in a deal to escape prosecution.
Showing your ignorance and fantasy world a little early today aren't you?
DeleteI watched this.
ReplyDeleteThe reason he went off on her is because she asked him why she couldn't smoke in her own car when he ORDERED her to put out the cigarette. Sure, by then she was royally pissed, but he had no right to condescend to her in that manner. You can tell that is when he decided she was going down.....when she QUESTIONED him on why she couldn't smoke in her own car!!
He deserved every swear word coming to him, and everything that woman said in her distress was absolutely justified, Imo.
I'm privileged to be treated like a human being by white police because I am white. And it is not fair that people who are not white are not given the same respect.
White people getting tickets are pissed too, but I bet you any money if a white woman was pulled over, she would NOT have been ordered to put out her cigarette. And he's an asshole, just like Sandra said.
This woman said everything correctly, and now I'm convinced that she must have continued her pissed attitude in jail, and they were gonna make her pay for the trouble they think she caused them. I think she was murdered.
The take away that I have from this video is to always stay cool and never take any bait. The officer says, "you seem irritated", she vents for a few minutes and then he asks, "are you done?". This exchange or even "pissin contest" if you will started it all. Waller County and the surrounding areas definitely have racial issues. The worst in the area is Montgomery Cty nearby. I know for a fact as I lived there for over 20 years and I am white.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the comments yet, so forgive me if someone already posted this. Last night, on "All In" with Chris Hayes, they broke the news that the original autopsy was "flawed" and the Prosecutor's office wants another one conducted, the family, who have suffered enough, planned to have their own independent autopsy, and now have to postpone/delay her funeral services while they conduct yet another autopsy.
ReplyDeleteThis whole story stinks from the get go. A traffic stop like hers would have warranted a warning. I heard him say "you're under arrest", but no reason was given, nor did I hear her get mirandized.
I've been pulled over by cops a few times for fairly minor infractions, and was never met with this level of violence.
Knowing it's being investigated as a homicide gives me hope that justice is done, but Sandra's still dead and nothing can change that nor the pain and loss her family, friends and those she touched in her short life will remain.
How many more Sandras, Treyvons, etc will it take for society to realize that we SHOULD be treated equally under the law?
Read an interesting comment. The bag in her cell was still in the trash can. Couldn't hang her and still be in the can. Credibility problem as usual.
ReplyDeleteWow. Sherlock Holmes, you read that on a comment!
DeleteMust be true!
They released a picture of her cell untouched after she was found. The trash liner is still in the can. Odd that someone would pull out the trash liner replace it with a spare in the room then hang themselves. Why are there spares just hanging around in a jail cell.
DeleteSo sad. I think putting very high monetary penalties on police should happen now. This is what happens with vehicles and everything. I am so sad for these black people. I hope the goodness coming to the family of Sandra is enormous.
ReplyDelete