Sandra Bland has been proven to be legally right in all interactions with the officer that pulled her. So why is she dead?
First, the bombshell. Texas Standard has an interview with Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project about Sandra Bland's interactions with the officer who pulled her over. And in every case, he confirms that she was was legally in the right. In every case, from not having to put her cigarette out to refusing to leave her car. What this means is there's not even a superficial reason for officer Brian Encinia to arrest her.
A sample:
Ms. Bland says, “I refuse to talk to you other than to identify myself.” Is she right or wrong?
“She’s right. Unfortunately, officers don’t like it when you know the law. In this case, even if you are right, you are still in danger. And that’s what we see unfolding here.”
Sandra Bland knew her rights and followed the law. And she was arrested and died in jail anyway.
This is the heart of #BlackLivesMatter. This isn't about videocam conspiracy theories. Because the racism captured on that video is perfectly clear. This is about an officer deciding to pull Sandra Bland over because he wanted to, disregarding her rights because he wanted to, making her submit because he wanted to, and arresting her because he wanted to.
This is what is fundamentally wrong with America. And a person in custody shouldn't have to die for it to be a media headline.
5:44 AM PT: Thanks for the recs.
Hannah has a great comment detailing some of the specific problems of police culture. She mentions the same issue that Jim Harrington does: it's an officer's job to deescalate a situation, but instead Encinia escalated it:
Why did the officer escalate the incident? Probably because he didn't like being on traffic patrol in the first place; making a U turn and giving chase raised his adrenaline; and the driver wasn't properly submissive.