nothing else makes sense.

it certainly seems suspicious.

If someone suffocated her via plastic bag, I would think an autopsy find some evidence of that People don't go quietly into the night when they're fighting for their lives...

Starting the moment that cop walked her out of view of the camera in his car.

Her fate was sealed at that moment.

Yes, I know she didn't die there, that's beside the point.

...based on the equally limited information everyone else is responding to, I think she was oppressively hassled by the Police over the traffic stop, and the arrest, exacerbated by her apparent clinical depression led her to kill herself.

Why was there a plastic bag in her cell if law enforcement placed her on suicide watch? !

I would be surpised to see you say anything but what you did. You never let facts get in your way of being negative and enjoying it.

Nevermind the fact there is no indication she had clinical depression or was ever suicidal. OF COURSE you would believe authority over the truth, nobody expects more from you.

"Nevermind the fact there is no indication she had clinical depression or was ever suicidal."

Are we supposed to believe that that tough, big city, young woman activist we viewed would kill herself.

I think not.

That BS of her committing suicide is all a part of planting seeds in the public mind to help cover-up her

murder IMO, and it's an old trick practiced by oppressor societies to eliminate activists. During the apartheid

era in South Africa arrested activist quite often were alleged to have committed suicide while in custody. It

came out years latter in the "truth and reconciliation hearings" that the authorities actually murdered them.

This might explain the recent rash of 3 black women in police custody who have allegedly committed suicide

in this country. And btw, black women have the lowest rate of suicide of any demographic segment.

We are not fools. We do not believe Sandra Bland committed suicide.

officers in light of the abuses that have happened over the last few years.

I have a friend who knew Abner Louima before he was sodomized with a night stick by NYC police officers, and so I always question the official story.

But I also think stress makes people do terrible things - lots of people with bright futures have committed suicide unfortunately.

Bryant

The FBI and DOJ will sort it out.

If a trooper could treat her the way that he did on the side of the road, based on her unwillingness to put out a cigarette, or get out of her car, How was she treated in this county jail run by a racist?

Three days in this kind of environment could push someone over the edge, but
he fact that they changed their story on how she died, and the clearly manipulated video from the "arrest"........at this point, I would say that this was a "suicide" in the same way that this was started by a normal "traffic stop".

If not out and out murder, it seems to be manslaughter. A caller into a radio show said that no jails or prisons give inmates trash disposal stuff like trash cans or plastic bags for the reason that they can be used to hurt themselves or another. So how did that trash bag get into her cell?

Honestly, some of the nitpicking that goes on here. Whether they actually do or not, I don't know. The caller claimed to work in a prison and claimed this. I really don't care, but it does seem to me that someone on suicide watch would have belts and other hanging devices removed from their cell.

yet you chose to make an issue of it and I'm cranky enough this evening to give you that issue right back.

I don't know but the story stinks bad.

But it is being investigated by the FBI, so hopefully there will be some answers soon.

And sadly I do not expect this to be last time either.

she sustained a head injury that killed her a few days later.

And when they found her they stupidly decided to make it look like a suicide.

But that's just a wild guess.

That condition does not deal well with head injuries.

You might have a good theory there.

Things certainly don't add up.

except I think it might have led her to suicide.

I don't know one way or the other; just saying it seems possible that her thinking could have been impaired by a concussion.

I also think they concussion could have simply killed her when left untreated, and then there was a cover-up.

and it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

and they may have even assumed it was suicide when they discovered her, and the story keeps changing because they are trying to fit the facts.

Last edited Wed Jul 22, 2015, 05:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Plus he said "or I'm going to light you up". Don't know but that looks like they could be coverup and motive. Too depressing.

if so, I think the difference in what fbi finds and what police are claiming will be so large that it will lead to convictions.

But I do know the official story leaves too many questions to not be suspicious as hell.

I'll wait to see what the FBI and coroner reports have to say.

Which may have led to her committing suicide because her thinking became erratic? Pure speculation, but I know that concussions are a risk factor for suicide - not immediately though.

It could also have lead to her death directly, and then a cover-up.

The independent Autopsy will out.

If this is proven to be correct, that head bashing could have been fatal.

when she told him in the tape while he was beating her, he said "good"

any professional le officer

makes me think he had a score to settle....

The family just had a press conference in Illinois

like they haven't Ever "oooopsie" just waited too long" to summon medical aide when they Knew it was needed....

If you watch the full tape, EMS arrives.

I'm not arguing with your point, because certainly a concussion can go undetected, but it will be interesting to see what the EMT's notes indicate at the traffic stop as a starting point.

She refused medical care.

I didn't recognize a EMT ...and what tape, may I ask?

I might be behind on some new info....
The only one I've seen so far is the now removed dash cam video that looked tampered with and another short one - perhaps from a bystander?

The one with the "glitches". I watched the full tape this morning via a link on DU.

The trooper indicates when he is talking with his boss (guessing it was his boss as I don't think that is clarified, but you only hear the trooper's side of the conversation) that Ms. Bland requested EMS. An ambulance ultimately arrives and parks in front of the tow truck. Two EMT's get out and walk over to the area that is out of camera range.

This is important because there will have to be a record of the call and although a concussion could go undetected, it would be pretty unreasonable to expect that a dislocated shoulder would not be detected.

I've not made up my mind yet about what happened. I'm simply sharing information that I saw in the tape. There is definitely something wrong here, so all details are doubly important and the EMT's testimonies will be critical.

Since she was complaining about him slamming her face to the ground and mentioning her epilepsy -- and saying it had affected her hearing.

Do I think the police and the "jailers" are complicit in her death (if they in fact, did not physically harm her in her last moments ... and that is a big if) .... oh, hell YES.

The maybe in my subject line might be more accurate if interpreted as "likely" ... "there's a good chance" ...

I found suicide incomprehensible also. But the combination of the jailhouse recording and her emotional volatility during the police stop made me think maybe this was a suicide after all.

But that doesn't make her death any less tragic. None of this should have happened, starting with the cop telling her to put out her cigarette, which was clearly his way of saying 'f--- you' when she expressed her irritation at being stopped, and ending with 3 days behind bars.

This whole thing is his fault, but she could have warded it off by being cool and polite during the police stop, regardless of her feelings. That's what most of us do to get through a police stop with the least damage possible. This suggests to me that she was under emotional distress prior to the stop, so vulnerable to being caught up in his power game. This is why I think she may have become suicidal.

I certainly try to be myself. BUT, and it's a big "but", the penalty for not being "cool and polite" should NOT be death.

I like your reply. Holding others to our own standards is often how people go really off track in their thinking.

And this is in no way her fault. One should be able to be annoyed or even angry yet not be roughed up by the cops and plunked in a jail cell.

Police in this country need to have a whole different attitude toward their jobs. They need to be trained to work with the public, not lord over it. And they need lots of accountability.

If she did kill herself in the jail, and the arrest is found unlawful, isn't that at least manslaughter? If he hadn't acted incorrectly by arresting her, she never would have been placed in a situation that she felt was so dire that she had to kill herself.

Of course, it makes no sense to me why she'd kill herself since she mentioned taking the officer to court several times in the video and since she was an activist for Black Lives Matter, it would be a great case to take to court--an extension of said activism. But yeah, killing herself makes more sense.

I think she had an "accidental" death in the jail cell (whether it was caused by her being thrown to the ground during the arrest or some inappropriate actions within the jail) and because they weren't watching her like they should have, they covered it up. I'm at 30 minutes into the video and most of what the officer is describing over the phone actually didn't happen, or at least didn't happen as he relates it. It's no wonder none of us believe this was a "simple" suicide.

But sure lets blame a person for getting upset because an officer wants to take you out of the care for not putting out a lit cigarette, in your own car. He says in the video, "Could you put out your cigarette," then proceeds to tell her he's going to "light her up" for not following his commands. His command was a request which doesn't make it lawful. People are allowed to be pissy about getting a ticket--it may not be a wise course of action but it isn't unlawful and neither is smoking in one's car.

My theory is that she questioned everything they did they got angry and murdered her. He took away her phone while she was recording him.

I think they didn't like that she was recording and she wanted her day in court.(Her words) She probably continued to question their authority in jail. That's when some crazy evil police officer killed her.

Just my theory.

and current Abuses/Murders committed and given the alleged tampering and All the other "suspicious deaths" while in transport and in house cells.........Yes, yes I definitely Do believe this was murder.
Sickening. Unacceptable. And IT MUST STOP!
Demand Congressional Action Now.
And don't forget to demand action from State Legislators as well.
In my opinion they Allowed this statutorily over the years. They Have to Fix this...NOW.

#BlackLivesMatter

she thought she broke her arm/dislocated her shoulder. is there any evidence she got medical attention, or did they let her sit around in pain with a broken limb?

It's near the end of the tape. Two EMT's arrive but their involvement with Ms. Bland is off camera. Their notes should prove very important.

on trumped up charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. That might have been enough to cause her to want to end it right then.

Her "offense" was completely minor. It escalated because she was a black person from out of state driving a rental car. Once that cop hauled her out of the car and got her off camera, it was all over for her. No new job, no new life, no nothing.

I think she knew that.

If it's found she did commit suicide, the proximate reason was the conduct of that cop.

to make it look like a suicide after they realized she was dead.

I'm glad the FBI is monitoring the investigation.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

I just want to add that I saw a post listing many of the victims by pic and by name, While I knew of the high profile victims I had no idea not a clue about how SOP murder of POC by cop across the country has become. Obviously I'm a white guy but I always find myself of a similar mind on many issues , I am starting to see how the white privilege operates, I see how it in and of itself is systemic , Then I realized why it is so prevalent in white folk , first, they don't even realize it, second ,generation after generation have been brainwashed in all societal interactions, The only way people get past this crap is to apply critical thinking , don't let yourself be sucked into the B.S., The PTB wants strife and separation between the 99%, Think, talk, solve the Damn problems and unite against those that would crush the souls of the people.
Black lives matter, Freedom and equality for all!

I'm sure I'll be crucified somehow,So have at it.

What she was pulled over for deserved a warning, nothing more. I'm not a big fan of the death penalty, but that cop deserves it if anyone ever did.

The official story frankly stinks.

Like my husband (from Dallas, a Jebbie and grad of MSU) said, "Of course she was... she's black and in Texas.".

I will say, from what I know, I see no way someone or someone's aren't guilty of involuntary manslaughter Or criminally negligent homicide. That is even if she were to have committed suicide.

made public yet to come to an informed conclusion.

The video of the hallway (and if it's been tampered with), the testimony of the EMTs and if any of the other prisoners were close enough to see/hear anything will all be very useful.

That said, she never should have been in that situation. While she could have responded to the cop better, he's the one being paid to be a public servant and in theory has training/experience in how to deal with that situation, of which he exhibited none. So even if it turns out that she did commit suicide unrelated to any potential injury caused by the cop, or more directly murdered in the jail cell, he is ill-suited to be a cop and there should be a charge of police misconduct, although I'm doubtful there will be one unless he caused an injury that could have led to her death such as a concussion or something similar.

I heard him ask her to put out the cigarette. It all went downhill from there.

I wonder what would have happened if she simply got out of the car.

But I am sure that she never should have been pulled out of that car in the first place. She NEVER should have been in that jail.

eom

should be held to find the truth.

People have known to vanish in small town Texas jails. They simply didn't get rid of her body and the paperwork fast enough.

And as incompetent and racist as those cops seem to be, it's hard for me to believe they are so stupid that they thought they could go into her cell, put a plastic bag over her head and smother her and get away with it.

I had not realized that she was epileptic and was on medication, and that she was denied the meds for an extended period after she was jailed. If there is proof of that, it seems likely that there is a good case for manslaughter or negligent homicide against the cops.

But the larger point is, the woman never should have been in that fucking jail in the first place. And there was something in the dash cam video that they were afraid of, hence their clumsy attempt at editing it. I read somewhere that she may have hit her head during the arrest (or been hit on the head) which could trigger a seizure some days later and that incident is what they didn't want anybody to see.

So I guess my answer is no, I don't believe she was "murdered" per se, but it's very apparent that she died as a result of official negligence.

And somebody clearly needs to be held accountable for it.

nt

the police are guilty of negligence having not watched her closely enough after she told them she had attempted suicide before.

that's all I can say based on what I've seen reported but.... something stinks.

I believe her death is directly linked to mistreatment she received at the hands of the police. Whether intentional or unintentional, I firmly believe that they caused her death. In no way do I believe that she committed suicide.

TYY

He racially profiled and stalked Trayvon. Even if the fight went like Zimmerman said, in my mind he is still a murderer because his own hostile, aggressive actions led to the situation where he killed Trayvon.

In Bland's case, I believe the cop racially profiled her, followed her until he had an excuse to stop her, then used a flimsy excuse to escalate the situation in a totally unnecessary and physical way. His hostile and aggressive actions ultimately led to her death. If he wasn't there and didn't do what he did, she'd be alive.

I totally distrust the conclusion of suicide but don't know what will be proved. Still, in the casual use of the word as opposed to the legal sense, I absolutely believe she was murdered.

I tend to also believe that if she committed suicide it was related to her injuries from the assault. I have a hard time believing that someone entered her cell to kill her because I just don't see her as a big enough player as an activist, and I'm sure cops deal with lawsuits all the time and have ways to handle that without killing people. But I certainly could be wrong.

I'm not 100%. She never should have been removed from her car, the way she was treated and the fact she was starting a new job makes me think this doesn't make sense.

The evidence so far points to "no" but that could change.

I know many people that have committed suicide, relationship troubles, financial troubles, substance abuse, medical conditions, depression or other mental illness, and a couple for no apparent reason.

The family and friends usually want to believe there was foul play at first, that "xxxx could never do that to themselves", but eventually the shock wears off.

People keep throwing it out there, that it's "impossible for her to have commited suicide" because she had just gotten a new job and sounded excited about it. That has no bearing sometimes in someone's mind when they take their own life.

Maybe she thought she would lose this new job due to the arrest and was distraught about that? Again, that's possible.

I knew a dentist that commited suicide,
Great dental practice, finances fine, beautiful family, he had had depression his whole life though, how good his outside surroundings were didn't matter at all.

I have very little doubt that cops engaged in a conspiracy to cover up this murder.

At this point in time, based upon everything that I've heard, I think that it was almost certainly murder.

If the cop isn't full of remorse for setting off this chain of events, he needs a heart transplant.

He had no business in a position of authority. His immature temper tantrum cost a lovely young woman with a promising future her life. He needs to be punished for that and his superiors too for unleashing a creep like that on the streets.

Decades ago when I was a civilian employee in a PD, this cop would have been an object of derision for his fellow officers. These days though, they toe the thin blue line and defend this type.

Everything about this incident stinks to high heaven.

Period. I don't know what happened next but point 1 is irrefutable IMO.

What legal charges can be brought in that case? Manslaughter? Negligence?

A beautiful young life taken for no reason but a cops overweening ego.

Last edited Wed Jul 22, 2015, 09:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Cold blooded, first degree murder.

the edited dash cam footage and the shifting claims about hanging, smothering, etc..

Probably murder, either a result of head trauma at the scene or violence sometime later.

Moby Dick is laying there somewhere.

Depression is my expertise, especially my own. I just don't see it.
admittedly I would need more information.
When I was in a depressive state I would have had NO interest in a new job, in fact I couldn't get out of bed hardly. I had no interest in much of everything. I think it more likely than not, they need to look at this very, very carefully. It doesn't feel right to me.

I can't imagine what her family is going through!