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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.
He had every authority to command her to get out of the car to finish his traffic investigation. He could have had any number of reasons to ask her to step out of the car to finish issuing her the warning. The moment she refused is the moment the stop crossed the threshold of an arrestable offense. Hinderence, resisting etc....
That's all idiotic hyperbole.
1. You havent a clue as to what would have happened with regards to the assault charge.
2. She seems fairly intent on doing her self harm at sometime or another just based on what we know with regards to her mental state including her past attempt and bodily mutilation. So there is a good chance she might have wound up dead from a suicide attempt at a later date just not in a jail cell.
3. Yeah because your an expert on Field Officer Training of rookie cops.
What investigation? He pulled her over because she didn't use her turn signal. So give her a ticket or warning...no need for anything further.
We know from her blogs/videos that she was caught up in all the Trayvon-Micheal Brown-etc. hysteria. She took the message being promoted in the media to heart - that the police are the enemy and proud black people need to stand up to them. Much of the blame for this incident can be traced back directly to the New York Times.
We know from her blogs/videos that she was caught up in all the Trayvon-Micheal Brown-etc. hysteria. She took the message being promoted in the media to heart - that the police are the enemy and proud black people need to stand up to them. Much of the blame for this incident can be traced back directly to the New York Times.
Oh come on. Enough with "the media".
She was responsible for her actions.
He was responsible for his actions.
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.
Simply put, she said nothing improper before being asked to put out her cigarette. Not one thing. She didn't even mention being agitated before he asked her why she was annoyed...a dumb question on his part. She didn't insult him once in her response to him. If she did, point the words out.
He actually started the problems when he asked her if she was "finished," and she stated back to him that she was not only finished, but had only answered him because he asked.
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.
Driving is not a constitutional right... You get your drivers license based on the skills you have and the rules you agree to follow. After you get your driving license you must continue to demonstrate your ability to drive safely on the road. If you fail to demonstrate this ability, you will be issued traffic tickets, or even have your license suspended or revoked.
So, Miss Sandra "failed to signal" which earns her a ticket (or warning) and then she goes ballistic, which causes a folly of events, out on the public highway, with her very foul mouth, extreme disrespect for the officer (calling him a P**** repeatedly) and then kicking him.
She could have avoided not killing herself. That's not the point. His actions led directly to her actions. He is responsible. I hope he feels the guilt over that too. But like most people IMO he doesn't think he did anything wrong and is probably more concerned about his career than her death.
Yeah, we know. Whites are responsible for every black crime, nothing is ever their fault. What color is the sky on your planet?
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Driving is a Privilage ...
You get your drivers license based on the skills you have and the rules you agree to follow. After you get your driving license you must continue to demonstrate your ability to drive safely on the road. If you fail to demonstrate this ability, you will be issued traffic tickets, or even have your license suspended or revoked.
