This is a talk that every American can benefit from listening to.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Sandy Bland- Why, after 3 days, was she still in a jail cell?
WHY WAS SANDRA BLAND FORCED TO GET OUT OF HER CAR?
The Long version of this traffic stop follows. I don't know what everyone else saw here but it appears to me that at 9:56 of the following video ms Bland was assaulted by this officer. At that time she was neither under arrest nor in the act of committing any crime, unless saying one is annoyed or smoking in one's car while it is stopped is against the law. We don't see what happened off camera but under the circumstances ms Bland may well have thought it was necessary to defend herself against an out of control assailant.
The next thing we know, the news is full of stories about a young woman who allegedly committed suicide in her jail cell. Why, after 3 days, was she still in a jail cell? The dash cam video clearly shows that she was the one being assaulted yet 3 days later she's still locked up in a Texas jail and charged with assaulting her assailant. Now I don't expect white folks to relate too well to this but a Black person knows that this could mean spending years behind bars. I don't know if ms Bland took her own life or not but the sad fact is that her life has been lost. I can't understand how millions of people can witness this video and not be screaming for the person who assaulted her then had her falsely imprisoned to be brought to justice. I have no doubt that the state will pay millions of dollars to cover his actions but that will be of little value to the next Black people that this loose cannon gets his hooks into and will yet again serve to demonstrate that police may do as they wish to Black people with impunity.
The Long version of this traffic stop follows. I don't know what everyone else saw here but it appears to me that at 9:56 of the following video ms Bland was assaulted by this officer. At that time she was neither under arrest nor in the act of committing any crime, unless saying one is annoyed or smoking in one's car while it is stopped is against the law. We don't see what happened off camera but under the circumstances ms Bland may well have thought it was necessary to defend herself against an out of control assailant.
The next thing we know, the news is full of stories about a young woman who allegedly committed suicide in her jail cell. Why, after 3 days, was she still in a jail cell? The dash cam video clearly shows that she was the one being assaulted yet 3 days later she's still locked up in a Texas jail and charged with assaulting her assailant. Now I don't expect white folks to relate too well to this but a Black person knows that this could mean spending years behind bars. I don't know if ms Bland took her own life or not but the sad fact is that her life has been lost. I can't understand how millions of people can witness this video and not be screaming for the person who assaulted her then had her falsely imprisoned to be brought to justice. I have no doubt that the state will pay millions of dollars to cover his actions but that will be of little value to the next Black people that this loose cannon gets his hooks into and will yet again serve to demonstrate that police may do as they wish to Black people with impunity.