A Black Woman Named Sandra Bland Got Pulled Over in Texas and Died in Jail Three Days Later. Why?

[Agschmid]

[center][/center]

A troubling story posted Wednesday night by an ABC affiliate in Chicago is picking up momentum online Thursday: the case of Sandra Bland, a black woman from Naperville, Illinois, who was stopped by police in Waller County, Texas, for making an improper lane change last Friday and ended up dead in jail on Monday morning. Police say Bland—who was in the area for a job interview at her alma mater, Texas Prairie View A&M—was arrested for “assault on a public servant” and appears to have committed suicide. But a friend told ABC those who knew Bland are “100 percent in belief that she did not do harm to herself.”

See the video of the arrest at the link.

Waller County Sheriff's officials told ABC that Bland was “combative” after officers stopped her for improperly signaling a lane change (!); a department statement says she was found dead at 9 a.m. Monday (July 13) of what “appears to be self-inflicted asphyxiation.” It's not clear why Bland was still in custody a full three days after being arrested. (Update, 1:55 p.m.: News reports from the time say that Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith was fired from a previous job in 2008 after he and members of his department were accused of racial bias and brutality.)

A Waller County prosecutor told ABC he does not “have any information that would make me think” Bland's death “was anything other than just a suicide.”

While Waller County is predominately white, Prairie View A&M is a historically black college whose students, as BuzzFeed's Joel Anderson notes, have staged large-scale protests a number of times in recent years during conflicts with local officials over voting-related issues.

Source.

[still_one]

1. It seems like not much has changed

[Agschmid]

3. In fact, nothing has.

[still_one]

4. It is sick, and a terrible tragedy

[OldEurope]

53. One thing has

Nowadays you are able to learn about such incidents. Worldwide.
Twenty years ago, you had never heard about such incidents in an other town or an other state. Now you can see what's going on all over. And also, everyone can record the evil and spread it. I think that is a reason for hope inspite of Fox News and others spewing hate.

[randys1]

2. combative? here is what we know, pulled over for something white people RARELY get pulled

over for

Then all we know is 3 days later she is dead, the video shows nothing

Why in the FUCK was she still in jail 3 days later?

Was she dead for two of those days?

Why did they have to murder her?

[Walk away]

5. Maybe they didn't HAVE to murder her...

Maybe they just didn't give a shit about how harshly they treated her because she "looked" like a criminal to them. It is horrific to be killed because your life just doesn't matter. That's what it's like in a war zone.

[Igel]

6. Nobody's said why she was still in jail, to my knowledge.

I suspect that if you assault a police officer--and that was the reason for taking her to jail in the first place, not something added after the fact--it's more serious than just a moving violation. Instead of a ticket, you may have to be arraigned and/or post bail. Waller County's population is perhaps 50,000. 84 people per square mile (that surprises me, I've driven in Waller County and ... Lots of fields, not many people.)

Did she kick the police officer? Don't know. The videos I've seen all start a few minutes after that would have happened. When I was a 15-year-old kid I was told, as part of driver's ed, that if I'm pulled over for any reason to stay in the car, door closed, engine off, hands on the steering wheel, the radio off and with the window rolled down. And to follow instructions--let the judge sort it out if I think I'm pulled over unjustly, because arguing with anybody just makes them angry and you angrier.



An hour before she was found dead, an officer (a woman officer, IIRC), went to ask if she wanted "recreation"--which I take to mean allowed out to walk or exercise.

"Why did they have to murder her?" is in the "Do you still beat your wife?" category, with a presupposition that can't be simply denied.

[uponit7771]

37. Seein this is the 4th "suicide" at that jail with a cop that was fired previously for being a racist

..bastard murder isn't out of the question.

She was also complaining about her ear bleeding ... sounds like a brain injury were they let her brain swell up and she died

[MADem]

52. Yeah, whatever. I think when one jail has a weird amount of "suicides," then something's up. nt

[randys1]

7. sigh

not sighing to the OP, sighing to yet another example of insanity and white privilege

[etherealtruth]

8. This is such a sick and disturbing story

Sadly, this and others are routine in the USA

[Reter]

9. Driving while black

[hifiguy]

10. Yep. Add stupid, brutal, racist kkkops

to the equation and nothing good will come of it.

[Starry Messenger]

11. Completely fucked up.

Unspeakable.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Sandra Bland: Tried to post $500 bail, before allegedly committing suicide.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/16/sandra-bland-tried-to-post-bail-before-allegedly-committing-suicide.html

Right. She was gonna post $500 bail, then ....changed her mind and just all of a sudden decided to kill herself.

To say this story stinks to high heaven is a massive understatement.

[Agschmid]

13. Yup.

Hopefully someone gets to the bottom of this.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Just... there are no words.

There is a petition to the DOJ to take over the investigation.

https://www.change.org/p/the-united-states-department-of-justice-attorney-general-loretta-lynch-take-over-the-investigation-into-the-death-of-sandra-bland-from-the-waller-county-texas-police-department

[Agschmid]

16. Signed.

[BlueIndyBlue]

20. Signed.

[lostnfound]

21. Signed.

[Chemisse]

26. Signed it. Ty.

[artislife]

47. Signed

Targeted.

We are so far away from grace.

[tosh]

49. Done.

[historylovr]

54. Signed.

Let's hope something will come of this if the DOJ does investigate.

[uponit7771]

36. +1

[Rex]

40. This part in original article

&quot Update, 1:55 p.m.: News reports from the time say that Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith was fired from a previous job in 2008 after he and members of his department were accused of racial bias and brutality.)"

How much more obvious then wearing bedsheets does this have to get?

She was murdered.

But oh well...DA says don't see nothing at all.

[Warren DeMontague]

42. Oh, right, the DA.

Meaning, this guy:

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Pastor-says-Waller-DA-threatened-him-5525581.php

[Rex]

43. Oh wow...hounds, he is going to send his hounds at the pastor?

Well shit nothing there come on now Warren! Wow...just...what can be said, will someone step up and make a change is the question.

That jail has a strange habit of making perfectly innocent people hang themsleves...but hey, nothing to snoop around looking for...might get the hounds sent after you anyways.

[Warren DeMontague]

51. I'd make a Mr. Burns joke, but this situation is beyond jokes.

So fucked.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. we need answers

[restorefreedom]

17. her family will need an independent autopsy

if it was "self inflicted," the autopsy will bear that out.

as it will the evidence of her likely murder

[arely staircase]

18. kicked nt

[Agschmid]

24. Thanks.

Hopefully more people sign the petition up thread.

[sheshe2]

29. done.

[Agschmid]

30. TY!

[sheshe2]

32. Welcome, Agschmid.

You think that you have hardened yourself to these cases. Then the next one comes along and hits you in the gut and you are right back where you started. You are in despair.

[Agschmid]

33. Yes and in this one we may never know what vile act really happened.

Horrifying, I can't imagine the feelings and emotions the family of the victim are facing.

[sheshe2]

34. Here is why will never know.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026978351

[Uncle Joe]

19. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Agschimid.

[Catherine Vincent]

22. I hope the authorities get to the bottom of this

It doesn't make sense.

[ailsagirl]

23. Stinks to high heaven!!!

What the hell happened??

That poor woman

[ailsagirl]

25. keep kicked!!!!!

[Warpy]

27. Not much to see until we got the call of the dirty, violent cop

"You need to leave."

Any cop yells this at somebody with a video rolling, you know he's dirty.

Damn right the DOJ needs to investigate this one. Waller County? Joke.

[Chemisse]

28. This just breaks my heart.

A young woman, just starting out in life, a bright future ahead of her, harassed and killed for no reason, by the very people who are paid to protect ALL members of the public.

If she died due to a head injury, autopsy results will show that. Hopefully the body isn't 'accidentally' cremated.

[ailsagirl]

35. kick

[sheshe2]

31. Everytime.

These cases stink to high heaven. The police are getting away with murder.

[JEB]

38. KKK has new uniforms.

[Rex]

39. And here is the part that SHOULD be an alarm bell heard all across the nation.

&quot Update, 1:55 p.m.: News reports from the time say that Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith was fired from a previous job in 2008 after he and members of his department were accused of racial bias and brutality.)"

Murder by cop, something becoming common place and evidently accepted.

[enigmatic]

41. She was murdered

By the Police. No doubt in my mind.

[ailsagirl]

45. "Suicided"

We've seen it happen before. There really are no words for the revulsion I feel.

[ailsagirl]

48. kick

[Mira]

44. GAWD ALMIGHTY

what's the email to "send it to Rachel.com"

[Catherine Vincent]

46. What should we make of the video where she claims PTSD?

And depression? I wonder if she needed medication. But no matter the findings, it's still sad.

[arikara]

50. This is so very disturbing.

I signed, and kick for more sigs.

[ailsagirl]

55. kick

[Humanist_Activist]

56. Who will police the police? We need to change police culture, change our racist culture...

have civilian review boards, and I would even say have civil rights commissars in police stations and jails, wherever they handle and transport prisoners. They can be appointed from local ACLU and/or NAACP legal members, think similarly to voting observers, that are outside of the chain of command, and whose sole purpose is wide discretionary power in reporting, to whatever authorities they deem necessary, the conditions and treatment of inmates in jails.

Even if this were a suicide, and I don't believe that for a minute, this Sheriff's office was grossly negligent in making sure a person in their custody doesn't come to harm. I cannot believe a fucking prosecutor called it "just a suicide", that fucker needs to be removed from office and disbarred.

[tblue37]

58. The cops would probably end up beating the civil rights observers, too. nt

[eridani]

57. I think it's a political assassination n/t

[Cha]

59. WHY? Indeed.. thank you, Agschmid