Waller County: 'Illegal' Lane Change leads to Death

In Texas, you have to use your turn signal even in turn only lanes.

What conspiracy theory about the mug shot?

 

Actually using common sense and good judgement could help both sides...Cops and civilians just need to exercise restraint when dealing with a potentially stressful situation. Being sharp and alert, and NOT being pompous and arrogant.

 

No one is advocating not using common sense. However, in the matter of deescalation one party is professionally trained and the other isn't. The standard theoretically should be higher for law enforcement to handle verbal disgruntlement more so than your typical civilian. Theoretically, criticism should be placed more so on the party that failed to act upon their professional training.

 

I'd like to see more people getting pulled over for lack of using a turn signal. This city is full of idiots who don't even know their vehicles are equipped with turn signals, it seems. I don't think the cops should turn into raving lunatics while they are ticketing them, but people refusing to use turn signals are a traffic causing menace.

 

Agree, however, if you are a LEO you should expect an individual to be irritated for being pulled over. It is a natural reaction. And when the officer asks the lady "Why do you look irritated" when he precisely knows why she looks irritated, that would be the exact opposite of deescalation. She answered his question honestly and bluntly. What did he expect? I expect a teenager to go up to someone and state "U MAD BRO?", not an officer.

 

People not signaling is a pet peeve of mine as well and I'd iimagine if cops pulled more people over for that traffic violation a vast majority of them would go smoothly. Very few people are crazy/stupid enough to turn a minor traffic stop into a situation where they are going to jail and those that are, probably belong there.

 

In no way am I defending the terrible officer in this story. That guy shouldn't be anywhere near a badge.

Cops should always know that the people they are about to ticket might be a little aggravated and be ready to act accordingly. Cops that escalate situations should be terminated on the spot.

 

The timing of her suicide makes perfect sense, she killed herself right around 8 AM on what would have been her first day of work at her new job.

 

Yup. If a civilian finds it necessary to be a sycophant to an officer it should be because that civilian is clinging on to the chance the officer might let the civilian off on a warning not because the civilian is in fear of being assaulted.

Yes, I've been pulled over before and yes I sucked up to the officer before and the officer reciprocated my kindness with a verbal warning however I shouldn't expect the officer to forcefully remove me out of my vehicle because I wasn't being courteous. That is f'n gestapo territory there.

 

Neither of them had any desire to deescalate the encounter. She clearly wanted an encounter and clearly had issues prior to being pulled over.

The officer supposedly does not have issues if he is an officer. He should know how to handle himself as a professional.

You avoid trouble when you can.... sometimes some officers seem to forget this. The same goes for citizens, but some citizens have issues, mental or otherwise.

That is all speculation.

We don't know what happened once she was in that cell yet.

 

it's actually not speculation, we do know that she killed herself on Monday morning, which was the same day she was to have her first day of work at her new job, between 7 AM and 8:55 AM. That's not speculation at all, that's the facts of the case that have been established.

 

Actually if you actually listen to her language, she actually wanted the encounter to be quick. She explicitly stated that she is frustrated but she knows it's his job to write the ticket so be on with it.
I don't know how one "clearly had issues" by merely looking frustrated from being pulled over. The officer was the first party to escalate the situation by asking her a question he already knew the answer to in order to elicit a response:"Why do you look irritated". She answered bluntly at the same time she acknowledged that he has the right to write her a ticket. Then the officer wanted to elicit another response by asking(not commanding) to put out her cigarette in her own vehicle. She had every right to say no while he can continue on his merry way of writing a ticket and never seeing her again.

 

I agree with yall that a police officer who should be trained on "deescalating tense situations", and he is willing to pull someone over for a lane change...he should be expecting heat from the civilian. The actions of that cop in the video were just plain idiotic and he deserves to lose his badge and a lot more. But most cops, use this insignificant violations(which they rarely give tickets for/some make you sign a warning/most let you go) for warrant/citation checks.

But the civilian should also use some common sense...Considering everything that is happening in society with rogue cops being violent with civilians, the last thing I need to do is piss someone that is carrying an armed weapon. Curse him under your breath (which I totally did... ) but just remain quiet, say very little as you need, and go on your way.

 

To claim a connection between the two is speculation. It is very speculative to believe that there is any connection beyond coincidence.

You may ultimately be right, but there is no basis for it at this point.

 

No I don't agree with you.

I have listened to it 4 times so far. I do not believe that she wanted it to be a quick encounter. They both fed off of each other.

She has had issues with law enforcement in the past, and has had personal issues in the past. I don't think there is anything controversial in that statement.

 

There absolutely is basis for a connection, she was crying off and on all weekend long and told other inmates about how she was worried about missing her first day of work at her new job....then she killed herself right around the time she would have been at work. It's not exactly a stretch connecting those dots.

 

I can understand its importance on the main lanes/public roads, but if ur pulling out of from your home neighborhood...A cop that pulls u over of that, I can see how people would give him the "seriously bro" look.

 

I partially agree however, it is a catch 22. Civilians continuing to be sycophants to officers because they fear their safety might be pragmatic, however, at the same time it perpetuates the status quo.

 

I think that is a stretch.

A suspicion? Sure...


But I am not ready to conclude that. It could be any of another of reasons. At this point we are not even conclusively certain she killed herself.