# Sandra Bland video **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 22, 2015, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859 "2015-07-22T05:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/441 "2015-07-23T15:09:17Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Concerning the suicide, I wonder if she was on meds for her depression. She had just lost a baby is what I’ve heard … are there meds for this now? My understanding is that this tears up a woman emotionally really really bad. I wonder how well this information was distributed among the jail personal. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/442 "2015-07-23T15:10:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Miss Bland did not scream at the officer until he was hurting her. I saw her shouting at him well before he had her out of the car but since I more or less am on the same side as you (and her), I don’t care to keep pressing this point. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/443 "2015-07-23T15:10:36Z")
And being informed of her depression, they wisely opted to leave her undisturbed in her jail cell, allowing her time to contemplate her situation without disrupting her meditations with needless observation. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/444 "2015-07-23T15:11:51Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > … > > 2- She was strangled by jail staff and strung up to pass for suicide. > > … That’s actually happened before. Seems the police love that strangle hold, and sometimes it gets a little out of hand and then they’ve got a dead prisoner on their hands. Of course, it’s easier to pass it off as a suicide than have to go be retrained on using the strangle hold, so suicide it becomes. Ron Settles is an example of this. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/445 "2015-07-23T15:12:02Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] And, in a display of modesty, he demands that she not use her phone to record events, as he is unwilling to be the focus of the plaudits and kudos that will certainly result from such a recording of his sterling and excruciatingly correct behavior. [/QUOTE] I thought she was trying to use her phone to call her lawyer (and thus delay his request to get out of her car). One good thing I got out of all of this is that you are indeed legally entitled to record your these sorts of confrontations as long as it doesn’t interfere with the police doing their job. Such a confrontation is not a private event, but a public one so can be legally recorded, at least according to CNN and an article I read on the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/446 "2015-07-23T15:14:56Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > When precisely is Bland technically arrested? He told the other police office she was arrested after she kicked him, and yet he told Bland she was arrested before she got out of the car. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/447 "2015-07-23T15:15:50Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > That’s actually happened before. Seems the police love that strangle hold, and sometimes it gets a little out of hand and then they’ve got a dead prisoner on their hands. Of course, it’s easier to pass it off as a suicide than have to go be retrained on using the strangle hold, so suicide it becomes. > > Ron Settles is an example of this. I would think a forensic examination would pretty much settle this, but I’m no doctor or coroner so would love to see a cite that you can make a strangulation death from a choke hold look like suicide and get away with it. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/448 "2015-07-23T15:16:06Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Starting a new job, phone calls to her family and a friend indicated a coherent, albeit defiant Sandra. Not someone who would be despondent or depressed. However, the Sheriff’s department was quick to use her facebook admission of depression and release documents that want us to believe she was suicidal. Except the paperwork at the time of her arrest is inconsistent, and the “depression” was a result of a miscarriage earlier this year. There is no evidence of chronic depression, or even a diagnosis of it. > > My worry is she succumbed to her injuries that were left untreated or she suffered a seizure as she suffered from epilepsy, or a combination of the two. While I’m not exactly ruling it out, I’m not exactly convinced there’s a cover-up conspiracy going on here. Even a straight up suicide is a BAD thing for all concerned at the jail. So, they’re going to be acting very carefully and cover their asses as much as they can. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/449 "2015-07-23T15:19:20Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I would think a forensic examination would pretty much settle this, but I’m no doctor or coroner so would love to see a cite that you can make a strangulation death from a choke hold look like suicide and get away with it. The knot on a rope or other such object leaves a clear and tell tale mark. A choke hold constricts from the front, and there is no such “knot” at the back. Another thing I know that I wish I did not. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/450 "2015-07-23T15:20:09Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > When precisely is Bland technically arrested? > [@Terr](#): > > I presume when the officer tells her she’s under arrest. After she refuses to leave the car and before she exits it. As in: > > TROOPER: “Get out!” (reaching into the car) > > BLAND: “Don’t touch me!” > > TROOPER: “Get out of the car!” > > BLAND: “Don’t touch me. I am not under arrest. You don’t have the right to touch me.” > > TROOPER: “ **You are under arrest**.” > [@elucidator](#): > > Excellent point, **Terr**! The legality of the arrest is the only issue of any significance… It was the only question asked by that poster, and **Terr** answered it. So yeah, in that context it’s the only issue of significance. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/451 "2015-07-23T15:21:03Z")
fwiw [http://www.dps.texas.gov/director\_staff/media\_and\_communications/2015/pr20150717.htm](http://www.dps.texas.gov/director_staff/media_and_communications/2015/pr20150717.htm) News Release July 17, 2015 Updated: DPS Statement Regarding Texas Ranger Investigation AUSTIN – The Department of Public Safety (DPS) values and strives to demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public through our actions based on fairness, respect and courteously serving those we contact. In the preliminary review of the traffic stop that occurred in Prairie View on July 10, 2015, involving Sandra Bland, we have identified **violations of the department’s procedures regarding traffic stops and the department’s courtesy policy**. Pending the outcome of the Texas Ranger and FBI investigation into this incident, the employee involved has been assigned administrative duties. At the conclusion of this investigation, any violations of protocols will be addressed. The District Attorney and DPS have also requested that the FBI conduct a forensic analysis of the videos related to this case. The video footage will be shared with the public as soon as possible. ### (HQ 2015-79) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/452 "2015-07-23T15:21:18Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > He told the other police office she was arrested after she kicked him, and yet he told Bland she was arrested before she got out of the car. OK, so she was arrested twice in rapid succession. Totally legal, and that’s all that counts. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/453 "2015-07-23T15:22:44Z")
If this has already been covered, I apologize, but what of the recent Supreme Court decision that police can’t extend a stop to go fishing for probable cause on an unrelated matter? With the imminent issue of a warning, would the initial cigarette request followed by the order to get out of the car be an illegal extension of the stop? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/454 "2015-07-23T15:23:15Z")
If Officer Friendly (not his real name) is removed from service, have we any confidence he will be replaced by a better one? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/455 "2015-07-23T15:24:10Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > He told the other police office she was arrested after she kicked him, and yet he told Bland she was arrested before she got out of the car. Cuz he’s a [LIAR!!!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=awY1MRlMKMc) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/456 "2015-07-23T15:24:32Z")
> [@XT](#): > > I would think a forensic examination would pretty much settle this, but I’m no doctor or coroner so would love to see a cite that you can make a strangulation death from a choke hold look like suicide and get away with it. I don’t know much either, but I believe a competent coroner could tell the difference. I’d like to know more about the quality of the autopsy and the credentials of the person doing it. Since this case has generated so much controversy, a second autopsy seems appropriate. Did they check her brain for injuries suffered in hitting the ground? Could they be the actual cause of death? Did the coroner approach it as “Hmmm… what did the cops say it was? Suicide by hanging? Yep, I can believe it.”? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/457 "2015-07-23T15:29:22Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I don’t know much either, but I believe a competent coroner could tell the difference. I’d like to know more about the quality of the autopsy and the credentials of the person doing it. Since this case has generated so much controversy, a second autopsy seems appropriate. Bland family already ordered an independent autopsy, it has been concluded a couple of days ago, and they have the results. They are not publishing them. Do you wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/458 "2015-07-23T15:30:58Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Bland family already ordered an independent autopsy, it has been concluded a couple of days ago, and they have the results. They are not publishing them. Do you wonder why? Someone up thread posted that this was a rumor. The family didn’t order a second autopsy. I don’t know the veracity of either claim, however. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/459 "2015-07-23T15:31:21Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > OMG Reefer Madness! The significance of this is what, exactly? The significance is that _this_ is why Texas wants a further chance to examine the body, not because of conspiracy theories about the medical examniner hiding the truth about her cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/460 "2015-07-23T15:31:23Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Bland family already ordered an independent autopsy, it has been concluded a couple of days ago, and they have the results. They are not publishing them. Do you wonder why? Perhaps they were advised by counsel not to discuss this publicly? Do you believe that resisting the temptation to sprint to a microphone with the results equates to admission that the official story is true? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=24)