Waller County: 'Illegal' Lane Change leads to Death

I hear a lot of talk about "deescalating tense situations" but let's face it, if a cop has need to "deescalate" someone that he's trying to give a warning for a minor traffic violation....he probably should take a deeper look at that person because that's really strange behavior no?

 

So if someone makes your job difficult, you are no longer required to attempt to do it properly?

 

Well, the case has been ruled a suicide already, she had made at least 2 previous suicide attempts, and she was found dead about an hour after she was supposed to be at work for the first time at a new job....

We also know that no one else entered her cell during the time between the last time she was seen alive and the time she was found dead.

What more are you waiting on?

 

The only thing the officer did wrong was that he didn't tell her why he was ordering her out of her car, and that's just a minor policy violation....similar to the minor traffic violation Bland was about to get a warning for. I think we can let the officer off the hook with a warning unless he escalates the situation.

 

Isn't there going to be a grand jury or did I miss something (honest question)?

 

Context, use it.

In this case 'deescalation' was from a lady 'who looked irritated'. How many people look irritated because of being pulled over. How does that draw suspicion to an officer?

Common sense dictates that if a civilian is confident enough to be cocky and smug when pulled over, then they probably have not much to hide. Instead, you reach for the opposite conclusion. What part of her behavior specifically do you find suspicious? The fact that she explicitly states that she is upset that she is pulled over? The fact that she was not willing to put out her cigarette in her vehicle? What specifically?

If an individual has something to hide when pulled over, common sense dictates that the individual will do everything to make that traffic stop run smoothly and quickly as possible.

 

You are speculating just like Bobby.

There are many, many cases of someone being combative and then either assaulting an officer, killing an officer or resisting arrest. Hell there was one recently where someone was pulled over, was combative and argumentative with an officer and pulled a gun and shot an officer. People do not always react rational, especially people under stress.

If I were an officer and someone were to be combative and rude, I would take notice and be even more observant. The problem is that this officer did not even try to deescalate the situation... the officer in Arizona attempted to deescalate the situation but unfortunately it still ended in death for the civilian and a gun shot wound for a responding officer.

 

...aaaaand Ms Bland was high on illegal drugs according to the autopsy

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...thorities-to-release-more-details-6401698.php

 

The prosecutor came out a little while ago and ruled it a suicide, so there's nothing to have a grand jury about as far as I know.

That doesn't mean she was high at the time, it just means that she smokes weed. It can stay in your system for up to a month.

 

Any time a LEO pulls over a civilian, it is just as stressful for the person he pulls over as it would be for him. Deescalation implies that he has the duty to help alleviate tension with a civilian and make them more relaxed. My point in all of this was to prove a point that remaining calm, alert and level minded is a skill that everyone should practice...especially in tense situations. By remaining calm, alert and cooperative allowed me from not pissing off someone that can kill you. But the points that fchowd and others have made is that these officers are given training on how to minimize stress that a civilian may experience when pulled over. Its really a two way street, and most of these encounters should never turn violent.

 

read the article. It says she was under the influence when arrested, and had high levels in her system. Quite clear.

 

Ive been a smoker since high school, haven't been pulled over in 10+ years, but when i was younger i rarely had insurance or inspection, etc. Each time i pulled over i would light a cigarette just in case i ended up getting hauled away, i wanted that last one.

But each time i was smoking i was asked to put it out. Its standard.


Hell the state trooper that i interacted with last time actually let me smoke my cigarette before putting me in his car. (one of the failure to appears caught up to me, i wasnt driving, and it was on fathers day)

I went to a different jail in that area (brenham), was booked in at 12:20, 20 minutes after the judge left (on fathers day). Was bailed out and on my way the next morning.


My problem with this whole thing is I have watched 5+ different lawyers tell me different things. I understand some of that is them picking a side and saying what would benefit their party. But as a citizen of the United States, how am I support to know exactly what my rights are when i get pulled over if we see soo many different opinions from people who are paid to know the law?

Ive seen lawyers provide these papers that basically tell the cop what they need to know and you never actually talk to them, ive seen the youtube video of the guy who just sits there and never acknowledges the cop, ive heard stories that they cant force you out of your car because its your property and ive heard the opposite of each of these stories.

Is it too much to ask for, if im being arrested for the cop to know what they are arresting me for, not have to call someone to figure it out later.

There have been enough of these cases over the last few years and most of them get thrown into some sort of racial controversy, but I as a citizen would love for there to be something in black and white that explains my rights and the cops rights, because obviously no one knows, we don't know and the cops don't know.

That being said, don't be a moron. When you get pulled over is not the time to try to compare the size of your dick with an office of the law. Be polite get it over with and get to where you were going, if they do something wrong get a lawyer and deal with it in a civilized manner.

 

I get what you mean, but if a person is tense and combative over something as little as a stop over a minor traffic violation, that's grounds to investigate further in order to find out why they are acting so oddly. As I mentioned before, a routine traffic stop is how the OKC bomber got himself arrested.

 

That's a part of a cop's job to deescalate issues when they happen.

 

mar1juana isn't the same as alcohol, there's no way to know via a drug test if someone is high at the moment they are tested. All you can know is that within the last month they smoked weed....and we already knew that Bland smoked weed because she has been popped for possession before.

 

Disagree with this...Everyone that is pulled over experiences stress and fear. Law abiding and those that have something to hide.
"What did I do"
"Did he really pull me over for that"
"Doesnt he have anything better to do?" OR
"Crap he got me...dang what am I gonna say to get off..."

I am sure that most everyone says the following when your pulled over. But just as LEO is trained to ask for your license and registration, we as the general public need to say "here you go, and may I please ask why am I being stopped..." That's it. After that, only speak and do things when instructed to do so. Thats all I have to say in this matter.

 

The cop basically gave her enough rope to hang herself, and she obliged....and then 3 days later she did so literally.

 

How about those judges when you go to court. Better not give them any back talk. Who do these guys think they are?

 

They REALLY hate it when you stomp your feet and yell "WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ME!?!?!?!"

 

Which possibly wouldn't have happen if he had got her out of the car for no reason or her not using her signal either way something is still a little fishy.