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Ok now you do understand that since blacks do not represent 50% of the population that means the above data infers that blacks die more than whites as a % right?
Basic math:
If black people made up 50 percent of the population (which they don't) their deaths would be 50 percent of the total - in a "perfect" world. Actually, they only make up about 13 percent of the population in the US, but they account for 1/3 (roughly) of deaths while in police custody. Now - in a "perfect" world, this number would seem skewered, but it actually begs the question, which is "DO African Americans commit about 1/3 of the crimes?"
It's hard to say. If she had suddenly cut over into another lane right in front of the police car, and he had to brake to avoid hitting her, or he saw her do that to someone else, or do it multiple times to get around cars, he might have stopped her for that- but that would have been careless driving as well. I thought she said she had changed lanes because she saw him behind her an wanted to get out of his way, but didn't signal first. That is entirely plausible, I have done the same and I might not have signalled either.
I don't know if this is reported anywhere in any of the media or if he's just talking traffic enforcement protocol, but my husband says the cop most likely would have not ticketed the lady, would just have let her go with a warning had she not started the altercation. After she did, all bets were off.
Agreed. I watched the long, entire video that begins with the previous traffic stop:
On the previous stop he was very cordial and professional with the woman in the car - and she was very polite. He gave her a warning and she drove away. He was polite to Bland at first as well. She evidently wouldn't even look at him (we can't see this but he mentions it later). I think she must have been acting strangely and it prompted him to ask if she was okay. I don't think he was trying to escalate here - I think he was asking if she was okay (he wanted to ascertain if there was a problem - a perfectly rational thing for him to do - was there a problem, was she sick, something he needed to know. I've been driving before when I was very upset, crying even. If I'd been pulled over at such a time I think the officer would ask me if I was okay and I would explain why I was upset - this is just perfectly logical to me).
So we know she was upset from the get-go. He goes back to his car and does his thing. Writes up a warning and takes it to her. She doesn't even wait to see if it is a ticket or a warning. She didn't give him the chance to tell her it was just a warning. She was so mad she lost her common sense. Her body language must have shown how upset she was and he asked again if she was okay. Thinking about this from the officer's point of view - he doesn't know this woman, she's acting weird and belligerent - he doesn't know if she's unstable, under the influence of something, upset about a personal matter - he has no idea what she will do next. He hasn't searched her or her car - so he doesn't know if she has a weapon. She complains about being pulled over, etc. It sounds like she is barely maintaining control - you can hear the strain in her voice. The cop probably wonders if she's going to get violent (this would have been my thought if I were in his shoes). He asks her nicely to put out her cigarette and she becomes even more argumentative. You can hear she's getting hysterical. If I were the cop at this point I would wonder what was up with this woman. I would wonder why she was so nervous - did she have something to hide? Was she going to get violent? Was she nuts? So he asks her to step out of the car - this way he can see if she's armed and prevent her from grabbing a weapon she might have handy. But she goes ballistic. He asks several times and she gets worse. Then he loses his temper too.
He shouldn't have yelled at her because it just made it worse. He definitely should not have said "I'll light you up!". She says he doesn't have the right to ask her to get out of the car - he tells her, truthfully, that he does. But she's not really listening anymore. She's into her own trip now - and by the time she gets out of the car she is into the "This is BS and I'm gonna sue" mode. And she starts calling him names and cussing like a sailor. She tries to get away from him. Even at this point, if she had stopped fighting and calmed down and talked rationally to the officer - she might have avoided jail. But she fought on. I think she did kick him - the female officer (who was black) looked down at his leg and said she saw that (probably dirt on his pants from her shoe). She evidently scratched him and cut him with her rings - the other officer mentions that. And at that point there was just no going back.
They both acted poorly. But he was nice at first and had been nice to the previous driver. She had no intention of being nice at all. Now, that is her right but it's pretty stupid. She clearly didn't like cops and was determined to make a fuss. He was going to give her a break but she wasn't having it. She had to do it her way and it had consequences.
I'm a white woman in my mid-50s. I would never talk to an officer that way. I was raised to have manners and respect authority. I've been pulled over several times and I act like a mature adult. If this had been me, when he told me why he'd pulled me over I would have said in a very polite way that I saw him behind me and wanted to get out of his way - but that he was correct and I had failed to signal and I'd apologize for that. I have to say that I find myself in front of a cop car every now and then. The last thing I would do is suddenly pull over like that because it's a red flag - it looks very suspicious.
I think we can see from the statements of the woman in the cell next to her, the cut marks on her wrist, and her suicide that she was unstable. The fact that her family claims to know nothing of her mental health problems is telling. They would have to have been signs but they were in denial (I have a long history of depression and nobody wanted to see it or admit it until I checked myself into the hospital because I was suicidal). Mental illness scare people and I'm sure they had no idea what to do so they went into denial. I'm sure they didn't dream she'd kill herself. It's tragic but I believe this is how it played out.
Folks - honestly, she was belligerent and confrontational and flat out STUPID in her response to this cop. And apparently, his "hunch" on her was right on target - not only does she have a terrible driving record, she also had weed in her system and obviously has an extreme reaction to any authority figure.
Folks - honestly, she was belligerent and confrontational and flat out STUPID in her response to this cop. And apparently, his "hunch" on her was right on target - not only does she have a terrible driving record, she also had weed in her system and obviously has an extreme reaction to any authority figure.
All nonsense^^^^^ the only reason the situation escalated is because this cop was looking for a fight. She was going to sign the ticket, but he had to ask about her attitude. Even his superiors said he handled the situation wrong. And since when does someone deserve to be murdered for mouthing off or smoking weed?
I'm already tired of this news story showing up on my home page. The media makes no mention of the hundreds of others that commit suicide while in custody every year. If she was not a woman and black this would not even be a news story.
I did too. She was belligerent and non cooperative. In fact, she was pretty awful.
Let me put it this way - this particular white woman wouldn't act that way during a traffic stop. Which might explain why I've never been in this particular situation, in spite of being pulled over fairly often over the course of my lifetime (due in part to a job which required a lot of "road time" for many years).
I've gotten warnings, and lectures, and tickets - and I've been cooperative every time. Hey, I was guilty as charged - even if it was occasionally for very minor things (one time I got pulled over for an expired inspection sticker for instance - expired by about 6 days).
All nonsense^^^^^ the only reason the situation escalated is because this cop was looking for a fight. She was going to sign the ticket, but he had to ask about her attitude. Even his superiors said he handled the situation wrong. And since when does someone deserve to be murdered for mouthing off or smoking weed?
You have no proof that she was murdered. This is pure conjecture. We can talk about it when you can show us some proof.
What exactly are the police guilty of here? She gets pulled over, attacks the officer, gets arrested, and hangs her self in her cell.( the women in question admitted to having depressions)
The media makes no mention of the hundreds of others that commit suicide while in custody every year
You've got to be kidding me. Who are these "hundreds" we never hear about?
Also think about it. If there are only hundreds who commit suicide in custody, and how many thousands of people in custody in America at any given time...what is the percentage then? How incredibly rare committing suicide in custody is...and incredibly suspicious. You are proving our case if it's only hundreds out of the total number in custody. Each case should be investigated.
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