Questions Raised Over Traffic Stop & Death of Sandra Bland

By Danny Lewis People are asking questions about the death of Sandra Bland, the woman who was found dead in a Texas jail on July 13^th, especially whether she should have been arrested in the first place. CNN reports the original dashcam video appears questionable:

Anger over Sandra Bland’s death in a Texas jail has boiled over after newly released video showed what happened at the traffic stop that led to her arrest: Now, many question whether she should have been arrested at all. The dashcam video shows Texas state Trooper Brian Encinia pulling Bland over July 10 for allegedly failing to use her turn signal. What started as normal conversation gets testy after Encinia asks her to put out her cigarette. “I am in my car. I don’t have to put out my cigarette,” Bland says. “You can step on out now,” Encinia replies. Bland refuses to get out of her car, and the trooper opens her door and starts trying to pull her out of the vehicle. What happens after that has ignited a debate about what the officer could have done versus what he should have done.

The next part of the article raises questions as to whether or not violence was used against Bland:

Much of what happens next is not seen on camera, but the officer can be heard saying Bland is not compliant. “When you pull away from me, you’re resisting arrest,” Encinia says. A clearly upset Bland can be heard saying: “You’re a real man now. You just slammed me, knocked my head in the ground. I got epilepsy you mother******.” “Good,” he replies. A female officer tells Bland she should have thought about that before she started resisting.

The original story that the police department gave does not add up. The video suggests that that the police officer acted unprofessionally and used violence against Sandra Bland. The following is the full video of the arrest from the Texas Department of Public Safety please be advised this footage contains STRONG LANGUAGE and VIOLENCE: Sandra Bland Traffic Stop Questions are also being raised about the way the jail handled Sandra Bland. An article from Huffington Post cites the jail’s failure to meet state standards:

The jail where Bland died was cited three days after her death by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for failing to complete visual face-to-face observations of inmates every 60 minutes as required by state regulations. It was also cited for failing to produce written records to prove that jail staff had undergone required yearly training in the recognition, supervision, documentation and handling of inmates who are mentally disabled or potentially suicidal. The jail also failed an inspection in November 2012 for failing to complete hourly observations after an inmate’s suicide, state records show. Bland was being held alone in a cell designed for up to five women when she was found dead.

Although the state autopsy ruled Sandra Bland’s death a suicide, her family is still raising questions about the legitimacy of the investigation. There are questions raised as to why the jail still has not released video from before she was allegedly found dead. While we may know what really happened, it is important that a full investigation is conducted to ensure something like this never happens again.