Waller County: 'Illegal' Lane Change leads to Death

When the cop asked her if she was finished, she made a comment and then concluded with the statement that she was finished. It could have ended there. But it didn't. The cop (not the woman) kept on going by asking her to put out the cigarette.

She correctly told him that she didn't have to put it out in her own car. It could have ended again there. But the cop (not the woman) then asked her to get out of the car. That was when the woman was wrong for what she did.

But pretty much everything up until that point is the cop fishing for her and attempting to push her buttons.

Fox News agrees, Donald Trump agrees, and the cops boss agrees. Very few people disagree on this.

 

Now we see that this officer has been in trouble before for not being a professional.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/sandra-bland/article/Trooper-who-arrested-Bland-disciplined-last-year-6419078.php

 

Only one year into the job?

 

The cop was in the wrong, end of story. He escalated the situation. She was pissed about getting a ticket, like most are and it isn't a criminal offense to be upset.

Give her the ticket and move on but he wanted to start some ****.

 

When asked to exit the vehicle, you exit. Whatever happens after you refuse to exit may not look pleasant to a viewer. She exits like she's REQUIRED to do, she gets to drive off and go kill herself on her own time.

 

Yep that was a mistake on her part to not exit the vehicle. The officer made many mistakes prior to that including asking her to exit the vehicle in the first place.

 

With LE having so much power to dictate our lives, maybe we should invoke higher standards to enter a LE career... no?

 

Mistake? There's was nothing unlawful or against policy by asking her out of the vehicle. Supreme court has even ruled on that almost 40 years ago.

The detention was not unreasonable as he was still finishing up business for the traffic violation. Please elaborate.

My dept. hires less than 2% of applicants, and we don't have officers getting arrested for transporting cocaine like HPD, or civil rights violations getting filed. Most decent sized agencies around Houston hold their officers to a standard.

 

Picture says 10,000 words.

 

In your opinion, what does this picture say? This should be fun.

 

It shows an officer's restraint and deescalation of a situation, which unfortunately is not utilized enough especially towards a specific demographic.

 

Look. If folks are looking for accountability in Sandra Bland's death, they've got to look no further than Ms. Bland herself.

She chose to end her own life. Additionally, her own belligerent behavior is the reason she was in jail in the first place.

It's highly likely that she was smoking the cigarrette to mask the smell of the mar1juana that she had just ingested. But put that aside. How bout simply being courteous with the police officer, allow him to finish issuing you a warning, and then simply drive away?

SHE escalated the situation. How bout showing some freaking common sense?

One needs to look at the Kyle Dinkheller dashcam video to see exactly why police officers MUST maintain strict control over a situation. In a traffic stop, you cannot allow an individual to disregard your instructions. That adds a lot of potential risk for the police officer's safety.

You can see how belligerent this lady is, when she finally does exit the vehicle she immediately turns her back to the cop and walks away?

WHO DOES THAT? Only a freaking idiot.

Stand by your vehicle. Do as the cop says. Shut your freaking mouth, and if you have a problem with the way you're being treated, file a lawsuit later via the appropriate channels.

So many of these recent incidents just boil down to pure stupidity on the part of the "victims".

 

Exactly. Why should we expect professionals that we trust to use deadly force based on their discretion upon the public populace to be trained to handle stupid people.

 

I don't know any real details about her death. I do know that in the traffic stop, the officer escalated the situation over and over again. The woman did make mistakes.

But I think it's okay to expect a little more from a law enforcement who's profession should include de-escalation.

When the officer asked Bland about being irritated, Bland answered. The officer could have stopped the situation and wrote the ticket right then. He didn't.

The officer asked her if she was done yet, which is an escalation. Again Bland made a statement, and then answered that she was done. The officer could have ended the situation right there, and written the ticket right then. He didn't.

Instead he asked her to put out the cigarette. That is another escalation, and one that she was not in any way required to follow. Bland answered that wasn't going to do that and didn't have to in her own car. The officer could have ended it there and written the ticket right then. He didn't.

Instead, he asked her to get out of the car. She should have done it, but she didn't do that right away.

Also you have no proof that she was smoking the cigarette to mask mar1juana odor. I've seen zero evidence of that being the case. Was it just your guess that's why she was smoking? Is that the only evidence you have of it?

 

Why did she have to put the cigarette out?

I know it's a dirty habit, but in my opinion the officer crossed the line...& I'm usually a supporter of a majority of Law Enforcement.

 

Well said.

 

It can only come up with one....COWARD!

 

Thank you

An officer has no duty or statutory requirement to de-escalate a situation. Yes, it's generally a good idea to though. More flies with honey right?

When Bland was stopped for that traffic offense, it's a criminal offense and she's detained. When someone is detained they aren't exactly free to move about their business and do as they please. Your freedom of movement and liberty has been restricted.

Just like when I've respond to a family violence scene. When I get there I don't know whose done what, and I've got to figure it out. That means that Joe Blow may want to light a cig and he may be refused that opportunity, even in his own house. If he wants to make a big deal about it, we can handle the scene while he sits in handcuffs. A traffic stop is more than a reasonable suspicion detention if it's done with probable cause [as was here]

The supreme court ruling dealing with getting people out of the car (Pennsylvania v. Mimms 1977) talks about officer safety. I don't know about you tough guys, but I don't want to have to wrestle with someone who's holding a cig nor do I want someone trying to stick it in my eye.

Sure, the officer didn't help calm her down; but he doesn't have to. Would I have handled it that way? I can tell you I would have been more polite and would have not riled her up. I don't get enjoyment out of that.

Read what I posted.

 

A lot of cops don't like dark skin... That has been proven time and time again.

If that guy would have had dark skin with a screw driver in his hand.... He'd be dead.

I moved out the city because there are too many criminals and cops and I view them one in the same... Be careful out their folks.