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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.
You've got some really good facts hear and for the most part I agree with you. However, to many of the posters on this thread the facts don't make any difference at all. They hate the police and they hate white people, so if anything happens it will always be their fault. They are way past reason, logic and facts
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.
Interesting, you immediately qualified your statement. So you knew you were lying. What a surprise.
Hey genius...the cigarette part of this little episode is the most important part of this video. It's the point at which things went awry.
And I've said this in damn near every post I've made. I'm more than willing to acknowledge that she was a handful AFTER being told to exit her car (for no apparent reason BTW).
So stop lying. I've said the same thing the whole time. You just can't read worth a damn.
Hey genius...the cigarette part of this little episode is the most important part of this video. It's the point at which things went awry.
And I've said this in damn near every post I've made. I'm more than willing to acknowledge that she was a handful AFTER being told to exit her car (for no apparent reason BTW).
If there is no apparent reason, one will be constructed for you.
You have the right to be charged for a constructed crime.
I have to give props elsewhere for bringing this up but the Supreme court ruled on this last session. This was a clear violation of her rights.
Rodriguez V United States ruled that a routine traffic stop can not be anything more than that. That the officer has to address the issue and allow the person to leave.
a traffic stop “can become unlawful if it is prolonged beyond the time reasonably required to complete the [traffic stop] mission.”
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.
If someone wouldn't have merged threads that video would have been the first post. He asked the first stop are you ok? She must have kissed his ass so he didn't do what he did with Bland and escalated the situation.
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