Facing Down Taser, Sandra Bland Was Told By Officer: "I Will Light You Up!"Betraying arrest report, newly released footage shows how arresting officer violently escalated traffic stop by threatening unarmed black woman with Taserby Jon Queally Common Dreams Jul. 22, 2015 |
Patriot ACT on Steroids: FISA Bill Forces 'An Enormous Range' of Businesses to Act as NSA Spies
John Hagee Cheers Israel-Iran Battle as 'Gog and Magog War,' Will Lobby Congress Not to Deescalate
Israel to Extend Water Agreement With Jordan 'For Helping Shoot Down Iranian Drones'
Ukraine Tells The U.S. It Wants to Be Treated Like Israel
Report On HIAS-Linked NGO 'Encouraging Illegals to Vote Biden' Called Into Question
While many questions still remain about what exactly happened to Sandra Bland in a Texas jail cell before she was found dead under mysterious circumstances on July 13, those looking for answers about why she was initially placed under arrest three days earlier were offered a look at devastating dash-cam footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday evening which showed the arresting officer, Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia, actively escalating a situation with violence and threatening the unarmed black woman with a Taser. The manner in which the escalation occurred led law enforcement officials to say that Encinia had not followed department procedures and failed to "maintain professionalism" during the arrest. In one shocking moment, the officer tells Bland that if she does not get out of her car he will "light her up." Subsequently, after she objects to having her head banged against the ground and telling him that she suffers from epilepsy, Encinia responds by saying, "Good." As the New York Times reports, several Texas lawmakers who were shown the footage said it is clear that Bland should never have been treated in such a manner nor ultimately taken into custody by police. "This young woman should be alive today," said State Representative Helen Giddings, Democrat of Dallas. According to the Times: Ms. Bland, an African-American from the Chicago area who had come to Texas for a job at her alma mater, Prairie View University, was arrested after she was stopped July 10 for a failure to signal a turn.Watch the footage [Warning: Graphic and strong language]: [Extended raw video] Mother Jones reports: In a press conference late Tuesday, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that Encinia failed to "maintain professionalism" throughout his interaction with Bland, and that he has been taken off the street and placed on administrative duty for duration of the investigation into Bland's death. In answer to a reporter's question, Texas state Sen. Royce West said that the dash cam footage showed that Bland should not have been taken into police custody.And Time magazine adds: The Bland case is the latest in a string of high-profile incidents around the country that have highlighted the strained relationship between the African-American community and local police.On Twitter, the reactions to what the newly released footage reveals about the arrest included expressions of outrage and confirmed for many that Bland should never have ended up in that jail cell in the first place: #SandraBland Tweets |