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Sandra Bland Found Dead in TX Jail, Police Say Suicide, Family Disagrees

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What?

What was SHE thinking?

The cop dragged her out of her car for not using her blinker.

The fact that some people "aren't surprised" by this is disgusting.
I'm not going to argue with someone that's being intellectually dishonest. He did not drag her out of her car for not using her blinker.
 
Don't see how someone just commits suicide after being arrested for a lane challenge and an accusation of assault on an officer three days later being in jail. Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
 

The Llama

Member
Anyone know anything about this guy or the nature of the tape as he describes? If he's right this is crazy. But surprised they'd edit to the same audio.

I have no idea who Ben Norton is tbh but I watched the video where he pointed out the inconsistencies and it's very clear that something is going on.

Edit: And to clarify, I have no idea if this was actually malicious editing, or just the result of some weird computer error, or what, but the video does some funky things.
 
I'm not going to argue with someone that's being intellectually dishonest. He did not drag her out of her car for not using her blinker.

He dragged her out of the car, terrorized her, and arrested her because he's cowardly and insecure. idk, I think that's worse than pulling her out of the car for not using a blinker.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
Anyone know anything about this guy or the nature of the tape as he describes? If he's right this is crazy. But surprised they'd edit to the same audio.

yeah the stuff the guy describes definitely happens in the video. car disappears and then appears again. same loop of the guy walking from the truck to the right of the frame happens twice.

if they were editing this to make the cop look better they'd probably take the part out about lighting her up though.

and a popular theory i see on twitter is he took her off camera to beat the shit out of her but really is he going to leave a handcuffed person standing in the street between two parked cars?
 
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na...-jail-hanging-case-20150720-story.html#page=1

They released the footage. tl;dr no one entered the cell for about 1.5 hours before the body was discovered. So it looks like unless you want believe the footage is edited (camera is motion-activated, 9 min of footage spanning several hours), she probably hung herself.

edit:

Well, as it says, there are gaps in the footage. It could be because nobody entered. It could be because the footage was erased.

Also, do we know the time of death? In theory she could've been killed before that time period anyway.
 

Kite

Member
Well, as it says, there are gaps in the footage. It could be because nobody entered. It could be because the footage was erased.

Also, do we know the time of death? In theory she could've been killed before that time period anyway.
One would expect security cameras to have anti-tampering measures, but I'll wait for the impartial FBI investigation's findings.
 

Con_Smith

Banned
Nothing seems right by this. Going over her videos and posts I don't see a woman who would off her self. Playing the wait and see game probably won't be satisfying either. If she did it to herself then I give it up, that's a fucked up way to go.

I feel like something is trying to push the black community hard and the breaking point won't be pretty for any of us.
 
Watching that dashcam video I don't believe for a second it was suicide.

I think a bunch of cops with superiority complexes who weren't used to getting lip from a minority for 3 days straight decided if she wouldn't shut up on her own, they'd make her shut up.
 

statham

Member
Yep, the cop who pulled her over is someone who wanted to push buttons, and she doesn't seem like someone who would commit suicide. Something is foul.
 

Zomba13

Member
On the one hand suicide and depression can show up in people you never expect it to at times you don't expect it to and it can be tough and sometimes just to cope you look for other causes to blame but then in cases like this you definitely feel there was foul play involved, if not in the actual act of death then at least in a way to encourage it.
 

DiscoJer

Member
Once I was asked if I was nervous, why I was being so cautious. I said "I'm not nervous and I don't want you to be either.".

I was once asked then when my home was being raided by the police to search for drugs (because I buy a box of allergy medication a month).

"Well, gee, because there are two dozen police with guns and in body armor surrounding me"
 
Watching that dashcam video I don't believe for a second it was suicide.

I think a bunch of cops with superiority complexes who weren't used to getting lip from a minority for 3 days straight decided if she wouldn't shut up on her own, they'd make her shut up.

That's exactly what happened. Sickening, horrifying story.
 

Guevara

Member
I really feel this is a story of unrecognized depression.

The family says there were no signs of depression.
Sandra Bland posted a video to her Facebook (which her family and friends should have seen) apologizing for being so "absent" lately, and also suggested she she was suffering from depression and self-diagnosed PTSD.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...d_may_have_suffered_from_depression_ptsd.html
Why would she kill herself? She had so much to live for.
According to NBC Chicago she owned $7,500 in court fines and fees from driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance, DUI. Fees that would all be due when she renewed her license or applied for another in Texas. There was also a warrant out for her and she was in jail in Chicago, though it's not clear why. It looks like this erratic behavior was accelerating. Either way it was definitely a major stress source , as it would be for anyone, and it was catching up with her.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...revious-Encounters-With-Police-316025661.html

Depression is a real thing, family and friends often don't want to recognize it.
 

dork

Banned
I really feel this is a story of unrecognized depression.

The family says there were no signs of depression.
Sandra Bland posted a video to her Facebook (which her family and friends should have seen) apologizing for being so "absent" lately, and also suggested she she was suffering from depression and self-diagnosed PTSD.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/new...d_may_have_suffered_from_depression_ptsd.html
Why would she kill herself? She had so much to live for.
According to NBC Chicago she owned $7,500 in court fines and fees from driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance, DUI. Fees that would all be due when she renewed her license or applied for another in Texas. There was also a warrant out for her and she was in jail in Chicago, though it's not clear why. It looks like this erratic behavior was accelerating. Either way it was definitely a major stress source , as it would be for anyone, and it was catching up with her.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/investiga...revious-Encounters-With-Police-316025661.html

Depression is a real thing, family and friends often don't want to recognize it.

It really really bothers me when people say that someone with "so much going" wouldn't kill themselves. Depression has nothing to do with that
 

The Llama

Member
The audio keeps playing even though the video erratically loops. I feel like the audio would also be affected if it wasn't doctored.

Yeah, I don't think there's enough to say it was definitively edited, but it's really weird and I hope we can get answers (even if it turns out to be some weird "glitch").
 

v0yce

Member
I'm not going to argue with someone that's being intellectually dishonest. He did not drag her out of her car for not using her blinker.

Ok then, how about you tell me what she did that made it okay for him to drag her out of her car.

I'll wait.
 
It sounds like the cop was being really physical with her.

Possibility that she had an untreated injury?

Though, that would likely show up in a autopsy right?
 
Reading about this story instantly made me sick to my stomach. The whole thing stinks, and the thought that an officer may have walked into a cell to murder this woman is just...I feel like I'm going to throw up. The thought of there possibly once being footage of someone walking into the cell to murder her adds to the sickening feeling I have. Horrific either way.
 

Koomaster

Member
The arrest never needed to happen in the first place. Cop was swinging his dick around telling her to put out her cigarette. She's in her own damn car, what the fuck. You're giving her a ticket you can't stand a little smoke in your face?

People do not have to obey every request a cop gives them. That was not a lawful request. Her smoking was not hindering him in his duty.

Cop escalated things. She has a right to be mad, he doesn't have the right however to exert authority over her and make unlawful requests. He pulled her out and detained her illegally; all brought about by his escalation of the situation. He then arrests her for no probable cause because she's rightfully angry with him for infringing on her rights.

Whether she killed herself or not (and I don't believe she did) this cop was the cause due to his actions.
 

Velcro Fly

Member
So is it a thing that she has to get out of the car if the cop requests it during the stop? I feel like that is going to be the thing that gets pointed to when there are no charges being filed over the stop. I've read all different sorts of things saying you don't have to but you should cooperate because not doing so will escalate, to things saying you have to, to things saying not to because then you can get frisked.

Also feel like if she was murdered in her cell it's like a whole new level. Many other shootings and incidents are heat of the moment type things. This would be like premeditated. Like whoever did it sought her out in the cell and maybe made arrangements to disable the camera to hide it.
 
I'm beginning to feel like we don't need officers making traffic stops for no harm violations. Catch it on camera and mail me a ticket. Otherwise, we have shitbags like this looking through the vehicle, wondering if he'll find drugs because he saw a black driver and then getting on a power trip when she wasn't cognizant of her "role."

Thank you, Supreme Court, by the way.
Atwater v. City of Lago Vista

Justice Souter - "[H]ow bad the problem [of unnecessary, minor crime arrests] is out there." during Oral arguments.

Let's ask Sandra Bland.
 

Buzzati

Banned
I don't know what to make of this. First: damn, this woman had balls. I've been stopped for equally miniscule traffic violations by hardline cops who barked orders at me.

One time in particular, after I was stopped for not wearing a seatbelt, the police officer stomped over to the driver's side window. He screamed at me to put my hands up (in my own car) because he thought something was in my hands. "Just doing this for my own protection." Dude would have blown my head off if I acted like Sandra. Over a fucking seatbelt.

No, she shouldn't have been handled that way just because she had a big mouth. Yes, the officer was in the wrong. But as every activist knows, there has got to be an attack plan here. Compose yourself and live to fight another day.
 
A guy killed himself (can't remember if it slit his wrists or throat with a razor they gave him stupidly unsupervised) in my county's jail some months back and not a peep was made anywhere about it in the news.
 

Fathom

Banned
After watching the video where the cop pulled her over, I don't believe for a second she killed herself. She's not at all the type. She wasn't belligerent or crazy, she was just very annoyed with this shithead cop as she had every right to be.
 

Fathom

Banned
It really really bothers me when people say that someone with "so much going" wouldn't kill themselves. Depression has nothing to do with that

The kind of depression where you suddenly kill yourself after contacting a bail bondsman is extremely serious, to the point where I feel comfortable saying someone with the attitude shown in that video would never do it. She's articulate and not some belligerent fool.
 
It's now on the BBC news. Came to GAF to find the thread. Another sad story from the States.

Come on chaps, get this shit fixed. Why is it so common for your police to be so violent.

Time for a change root and branch.
 
just the saw the whole video, nothing was justified whatsoever, i really hope the full unedited video gets released and whoever killed her rots in jail.

Just waiting for the Sandra Blake thug life facebook pics to pop up anytime now
 

Velcro Fly

Member
they both did things to escalate but it's on him as the cop to be the one to back down and de-escalate and he didn't. neither person was giving an inch that day. the tape makes clear that the cop should have just backed down and he didn't.
 

minx

Member
just the saw the whole video, nothing was justified whatsoever, i really hope the full unedited video gets released and whoever killed her rots in jail.

Just waiting for the Sandra Blake thug life facebook pics to pop up anytime now

Nothing was justified whatsoever? Might want to study up on your rights. She didn't know hers during the stop.

I love all the conspiracy theories people posted in here as well. Can't even fathom that she actually committed suicide.
 
Since I don't know much about depression, being fired alone could be a trigger to a suicide on this person? Because shit happens to people everyday while they struggle to move forward. The situation clearly escalated there and the officer could have prevented it. But those two events (arrest and death) have no significant correlation to the officer himself.

It's like an employer firing someone, and getting the blame because the person commited suicide, right? I mean, he would be considered the trigger that put that person into that situation. The firing itself could be unreasonable just because one day you have a bad mood and happen to vent at the wrong time. And then you get fired, have a mortgage that you barely can pay, have depression... wouldn't that be quite the reason to take a definitve measure? Would you place the blame on the unreasonable boss because he fired that person?

I've seen situations where people are driven to suicide due to many factors making it impossible to look forward anything at all. But this, to me, isn't one of those cases where they put her into a situation that was unfixable and thus pushed her to commit suicide. In fact, we're being told she landed a dream job.
 
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