According to newly released police video, a Texas trooper threatened Sandra Bland with a Taser when he ordered her out of her vehicle during a traffic stop on July 10, three days before she was found dead in a county jail.
Bland — a 28-year old African American woman — was stopped for failing to signal while changing lanes, but the routine traffic stop turned confrontational after the officer, Brian Encinia, ordered Bland to put out her cigarette.
This is a frightening story. The police officer seems to want to escalate the situation until Sandra Bland does become hysterical. He was demeaning and rude where it wasn’t really necessary.
Why did Sandra Bland die? We may never know. It doesn’t sound like she should have ever been arrested.
How very sad. Why was she kept so long? Nothing in this case makes one bit of sense.
