# 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:** 57
**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 27, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1121 "2015-07-27T04:50:32Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > 1. ATMs are open 24/7. Max withdrawal is usually $400 - so you’d need two people. Sandra Bland had more than two family members - at least a mother and two sisters, as well as friends that she called. > > 2. Western Union office hours are usually something like 8am to 9pm 7 days a week. Some are 24/7. > > 3. No, if you pay the bondsman $500, then he pays the $5K bail, and gets it back after the case is over. True about the ATM. Never had to wire money. But who knows what kind of hoops they had to jump through to raise, most of their family could’ve been on the ropes that month. I can’t much fault them, like I do the actual guy who put her in there. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1122 "2015-07-27T04:50:41Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > There is no evidence that the officer assaulted her. There is evidence that she assaulted a police officer. I think he assaulted her when he entered the car, and soon threatened her with the taser. She had not assaulted anyone to that time. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1123 "2015-07-27T04:51:58Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > 1. ATMs are open 24/7. Max withdrawal is usually $400 - so you’d need two people. Sandra Bland had more than two family members - at least a mother and two sisters, as well as friends that she called. > > 2. Western Union office hours are usually something like 8am to 9pm 7 days a week. Some are 24/7. > > 3. No, if you pay the bondsman $500, then he pays the $5K bail, and gets it back after the case is over. It’s not very hard to believe that a “less well off” family a few hundred miles away might have trouble arranging the money transfer. Between getting together the cash, getting to an ATM to get more, getting to a western union, knowing who to transfer to and how to get the money to the correct person — It can all take time. For the better off, of course it’s easier, but I wouldn’t neccessarily impute anything over the failure to get the money to the right place quickly ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1124 "2015-07-27T04:53:15Z")
> [@camille](#): > > They should be on suicide watch, as per protocol. It’s going to be interesting watching how the family that insists, categorically, that there was never ever any sign of depression in Sandra Bland and that they have never heard of her prior suicide attempts, manages then to twist around and claim negligence because Bland was not put on suicide watch. ---
**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 27, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1125 "2015-07-27T04:55:50Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It’s going to be interesting watching how the family that insists, categorically, that there was never ever any sign of depression in Sandra Bland and that they have never heard of her prior suicide attempts, manages then to twist around and claim negligence because Bland was not put on suicide watch. Shouldn’t much matter what Sandra or her family said about her state of mind. Why was there a HUGE FUCKING PLASTIC BAG IN A JAIL CELL? ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1126 "2015-07-27T04:56:19Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > 1. ATMs are open 24/7. Max withdrawal is usually $400 - so you’d need two people. Sandra Bland had more than two family members - at least a mother and two sisters, as well as friends that she called. > > 2. Western Union office hours are usually something like 8am to 9pm 7 days a week. Some are 24/7. > > 3. No, if you pay the bondsman $500, then he pays the $5K bail, and gets it back after the case is over. The woman in the cell across from her, in the interview I cited: She was there for _17 days_, for unpaid _parking_ tickets. I guess her family _really_ didn’t care about her. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1127 "2015-07-27T04:57:21Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > It’s not very hard to believe that a “less well off” family a few hundred miles away might have trouble arranging the money transfer. > Between getting together the cash, getting to an ATM to get more, getting to a western union, knowing who to transfer to and how to get the money to the correct person The bondsman called the mother on Saturday. I am sure he told her where to wire the money and the amount. There are [dozens of Western Union offices in Naperville, IL](http://locations.westernunion.com/search/il/naperville?page=2&q=Naperville%2C+IL%2C+USA&filters=services-_-moneyTransfer). Open Saturday and Sunday. Any more excuses? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1128 "2015-07-27T04:57:55Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > It’s going to be interesting watching how the family that insists, categorically, that there was never ever any sign of depression in Sandra Bland and that they have never heard of her prior suicide attempts, manages then to twist around and claim negligence because Bland was not put on suicide watch. I don’t get how those two positions contradict each other. The second part is what the police knew, or should’ve known, while the first is about what they as a family knew. What’s the problem? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1129 "2015-07-27T05:02:48Z")
> [@camille](#): > > The woman in the cell across from her, in the interview I cited: She was there for _17 days_, for unpaid _parking_ tickets. > > I guess her family _really_ didn’t care about her. Could be. When you’re in jail on unpaid tickets warrant, the bail could be set to the amount owed. Which, depending on the time elapsed since they were issued, could be quite a sum. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1130 "2015-07-27T05:03:05Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > This is not one person. This is a family. A bunch of people. To bail out their daughter/sister/niece/etc. > > But, of course, as shown in the linked-to NBC Chicago investigation, maybe they were used to her being in traffic-violation trouble, after all the other violations on record, and thought it was not a big deal. I am impressed that you are so intimately familiar with the finances of this particular “bunch of people” that you can dismiss any possible financial hardship they might have experienced, and imply that they left her there out of a lack of caring. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1131 "2015-07-27T05:05:20Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I don’t get how those two positions contradict each other. The second part is what the police knew, or should’ve known, while the first is about what they as a family knew. What’s the problem? I have to agree- whatever the family knew or didn’t know, the police are saying that there was a previous attempt. If the police knew, then she should have watched. The two things are not in contradiction. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1132 "2015-07-27T05:06:35Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > True, but that’s a hypothetical situation. Since he had the warning (or maybe a ticket) in his hand already, it’s a hypothetical situation that is not plausible in this case. Well, technically he can decide to arrest them for it until they’ve signed the summons or warrant. So, it is possible. And I have had a Texas cop explain pointedly that they were _supposed_ to take me to jail for the minor violation of driving with expired plates, even if they couldn’t take me to jail for the original violation of going 85 in 55. Despite claims that only persons equipped with XX chromosomes get warnings, I left with only a warning. I’d imagine that there’s at least one person that’s been taken to jail for a minor traffic violation. > [@Terr](#): > > AFAIU (I am not a policeman) it’s not just Texas but pretty much anywhere that the police can “put you in cuffs while they decide what to do with you” (if they have any reason to detain you - note the “detain”, not “arrest”). The cuffs would be for the safety of the officer, at his discretion. I would have thought so, but apparently some states don’t _appear_ to allow the officer to have the person leave the car in a minor traffic stop. I’d imagine that obviates the person in question being cuffed. Texas has no such prohibition. > [@Bricker](#): > > And DID violate DPS policy. Yes, I figured the DPS was covered by “any sane”. > [@standingwave](#): > > I have a question after reading the [transcript of the extended dash-cam video](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sandra-bland-arrest-transcript_55b03a88e4b0a9b94853b1f1). Emphasis mine: > > Is this true? Are you technically “under arrest” whenever you get pulled over? So when he told her that she’s under arrest (which he claims here that he did not) was he really just referring to the traffic stop itself? Seems to me like a lot of dancing going on. In my understanding, she was at least being detained at that point, still with the possibility of arrest. Under the rules I understand, he can cuff her. Her acting out while being in custody was going to land her in jail. Fact is, I don’t know of any way that you can make being belligerent to a police officer completely safe. I’ve done it without going to jail, but that’s a rare occasion. As long as they’re given any discretion whatsoever, and the suspect is being belligerent, it’s going to be possible for them to eventually bait them into an arrest-able offense. If you don’t have the sense to behave once they’ve started to put you in cuffs, there’s almost no helping you, you’re at least going to jail. All of the conspiracies offered so far are non-starters until you get some sort of physical evidence that she didn’t hang herself. Her family claims the official one is “defective”, but don’t offer specifics from their own so far. ---
**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 27, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1133 "2015-07-27T05:07:00Z")
❤ True love is when a family bails you out in less than 36 hours. ❤ ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1134 "2015-07-27T05:09:08Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > I am impressed that you are so intimately familiar with the finances of this particular “bunch of people” that you can dismiss any possible financial hardship they might have experienced, and imply that they left her there out of a lack of caring. True. I don’t know why they didn’t bail her out. I can’t read their minds. I am definitely not a mind reader in the league of all those who managed to read the mind of the arresting police officer and found that he was arresting her because of racism or her being “uppity”, or the ones that managed to read his mind and found that he moved her to the grass to be out of the range of the camera and not for another reason, etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1135 "2015-07-27T05:11:42Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > The bondsman called the mother on Saturday. I am sure he told her where to wire the money and the amount. There are [dozens of Western Union offices in Naperville, IL](http://locations.westernunion.com/search/il/naperville?page=2&q=Naperville%2C+IL%2C+USA&filters=services-_-moneyTransfer). Open Saturday and Sunday. Any more excuses? First of all - it’s not an excuse. Secondly - if you really can’t conceive that it might take more than just a few hours with someone of limited resources to get it all sorted out reeks of willful ignorance. If you have to get the money from “somewhere else” that’s two or more people that have to get to an ATM - even assuming they have a few hundred dollars to spare, then they have to get together to pool the money, then they have to get to the western union with the correct details - And all assuming that mum knows where the western unions are, how to quickly find them, how to get to them easily… There’s lots that go wrong. It’s not hard to believe that the time taken to get the money there could stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1136 "2015-07-27T05:13:22Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > First of all - it’s not an excuse. > > Secondly - if you really can’t conceive that it might take more than just a few hours with someone of limited resources to get it all sorted out reeks of willful ignorance. > > If you have to get the money from “somewhere else” that’s two or more people that have to get to an ATM - even assuming they have a few hundred dollars to spare, then they have to get together to pool the money, then they have to get to the western union with the correct details - > And all assuming that mum knows where the western unions are, how to quickly find them, how to get to them easily… And it takes two days? While their daughter/sister is in jail? No, if there was a will, there would be a way to do it faster than two days. And really - do you have _any_ evidence that her family was THAT poor? ---
**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 27, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1137 "2015-07-27T05:17:35Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And it takes two days? While their daughter/sister is in jail? No, if there was a will, there would be a way to do it faster than two days. > > And really - do you have _any_ evidence that her family was THAT poor? No. But we do have evidence the cop was a total asshole. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1138 "2015-07-27T05:25:26Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And it takes two days? While their daughter/sister is in jail? No, if there was a will, there would be a way to do it faster than two days. > > And really - do you have _any_ evidence that her family was THAT poor? Well we don’t know that do we? But yes, I could well imagine that it would be easy for the time to stretch to two days or more, it can be surprising sometimes how things don’t go you way when you don’t have money. I could easily construct a timeline that would stretch it past the two days you’re citing. In any case - does it matter? Does how quickly the family could raise the money and get it to a bail bondsman make any difference whatsoever to the behaviour of the cop or the jail staff in this instance? It just seems to be another case of “HER Fault!”, a deflection in a desperate attempt to remove any blame you possibly can from the cop. ---
**Author:** ![camille](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@camille](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/camille)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1139 "2015-07-27T05:30:13Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > And it takes two days? While their daughter/sister is in jail? No, if there was a will, there would be a way to do it faster than two days. I’d like to know the way to get fast money you don’t have and can’t borrow. Will you share it with us, or do we need to send you a SASE and $20.00? ---
**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 27, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859/1140 "2015-07-27T05:34:16Z")
Another thing that may have contributed is the fact it may not bode well to begin your new job (or interview or whatever it was) by saying you can’t make it in because you’re in jail. Could kinda fuck up your plans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=56) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandra-bland-video/725859.md?page=58)