Sandy Bland

[Boomerslady]

Has anyone else read about this? I'm guessing for you US ladies it's all over the news.

Anyone wondering about who she is do a quick google and read the reports and watch the video footage.

Basically she got pulled over in America for a minor traffic violation, it escalated very quickly as she didn't bow down and hero worship the police officer. He them arrested her for (well who knows, he wouldn't tell her in the footage) and 2 days later she was found hung in her cell.

They are now investigating her death as her family have said there is no way she would've committed suicide.

The bit I found most disturbing if I'm honest is when he's pinned her on the floor and she states 'you've just slammed my head into the ground and I have epilepsy' his response was 'good' it's a disgrace, regardless of what she had done, where's the compassion? Or the duty of care.

What's other peoples thoughts/opinions?

I hope she can somehow RIP.

 

[Tiff]

I think its disgusting.

Honestly. There are so many arguments about how she should have paid lip service to the police officer, but he was being such a jerk to her. He asked her to put out her cigarette and she refused. Which IMHO.... should have just put it out. I probably would've asked someone to put theirs out as well as I don't want to smell it.

But that was what got him to fly off the handle at her. He started ordering her out of the car, to which she refused. To be fair, she probably could've handled it better but the more important thing is that as an officer of the law HE should most DEFINITELY handled it better.

I think he was annoyed because she kept going on about getting a ticket, whereas he had originally just written her a warning. But honestly, you don't need to get into "God Mode" to try and prove someone wrong. It should have never escalated the way it did.

The guy who shot a bunch of black people in the church a few weeks ago had a bullet proof vest, was arrested calmly AND given burger king. She fails to signal a lane change and she's dragged out of the car, assaulted and then thrown into jail. Its mind boggling.

I hope they come to the bottom of what happened in the jail. It was disgusting enough that she was treated as she was! She should never have DIED though. I hope she finds peace as well.

 

[sue_88]

I believe the coroners report there were clear ligature marks around her neck and concluded suicide. I don't see why that wouldn't be the truth.

She shouldn't have behaved the way she did, she should have accepted the warning and been on her way.

I don't think the officer behaved well at all, but it would never had happened had she not behaved the way she did.

It's a sad ending and I will never understand why she felt the need to end her life over something so minor.

 

[Tiff]

Problem being that there have been many people who are white who have behaved worse to the police and not gotten the attitude that she did.

I do agree though, she was hostile from the beginning. Which I don't think helped her case. Regardless of how she was I don't think she needed to be forcibly removed from her car. For failure to indicate a lane change. Oftentimes you don't even get pulled over for stuff like that.

I do think it could have been avoided had she just sat back and accepted the ticket (which was actually a warning). But to be arrested, after being assaulted? That's over and above. IMHO.

 

[LoraLoo]

It's very sad And I can see both sides. There's never an excuse for that sort of aggression or violence. However it was off camera so we don't know the whole story.
I don't think she was forcibly removed for failure to indicate but because she refused to leave the car.
The outcome is tragic, it should never have been able to happen and I really feel for her family

 

[Larkspur]

I find it shocking how the behaviour of the officer is being diminished even in this thread.

He had extremely tenuous cause to pull her over, no cause to remove her from the car and no cause to arrest her, leaving aside the assault.

By declining to comply with orders he was not entitled to give, she was not asking for what happening or causing it to happen in ANY way. She was a citizen who knew her legal rights and was standing up for them. She DID accept the warning, she was prepared to accept the ticket, but she knew from the start that the officer was acting outside the bounds of his legal discretion by asking her to put out the cigarette and get out of the car.

How this complete injustice and abuse of power has come to be viewed as partially her fault blows me away.

I hope she doesn't rest in peace, I hope her angry, restless spirit sticks around and nags at all of us until we expect and demand better from the people entrusted with the DUTY of protecting us.

 

[Tiff]

It's very sad And I can see both sides. There's never an excuse for that sort of aggression or violence. However it was off camera so we don't know the whole story.
I don't think she was forcibly removed for failure to indicate but because she refused to leave the car.
The outcome is tragic, it should never have been able to happen and I really feel for her family

She was forcibly removed because she (well within her rights) told the officer that she didn't need to leave her car and asked as to why. He totally power tripped on her and then got infuriated because she questioned his "authority".

There's pictures of an eyewitness who shows him with his knee in her neck, and even the witness was threatened for taking a video when it was WELL within their rights to do so.

 

[Tiff]

I find it shocking how the behaviour of the officer is being diminished even in this thread.

He had extremely tenuous cause to pull her over, no cause to remove her from the car and no cause to arrest her, leaving aside the assault.

By declining to comply with orders he was not entitled to give, she was not asking for what happening or causing it to happen in ANY way. She was a citizen who knew her legal rights and was standing up for them. She DID accept the warning, she was prepared to accept the ticket, but she knew from the start that the officer was acting outside the bounds of his legal discretion by asking her to put out the cigarette and get out of the car.

How this complete injustice and abuse of power has come to be viewed as partially her fault blows me away.

I hope she doesn't rest in peace, I hope her angry, restless spirit sticks around and nags at all of us until we expect and demand better from the people entrusted with the DUTY of protecting us.

From the video I watched, she kept being upset about a ticket and that's when (while she was handcuffed) he kept putting her here and there, then getting mad at her because he wanted to 'show' her the warning and her getting upset because in one moment he wanted her standing still in one place yet then in the next mad because she wasn't right where he wanted her to be.

I do think that if she had kept her mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened. However, I do not think that her keeping her mouth shut was the right way to do things. She definitely should have spoken up, said what was wrong and there was no need for him to lose it on her because god forbid, someone pointed out that he was outside of his rights.

 

[LoraLoo]

Why was she within her rights to say no to stepping out of the car? Police officers CAN order you do do so for a traffic violation.
I really don't see any issues until the point he slammed her to the floor. Obviously that's a major issue and not acceptable but again we don't know what she was doing off camera.
As for saying 'good' - did you hear the abuse she was giving him? She was purposely goading him so I'm afraid that's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. That's not acceptable either.

 

[Boomerslady]

I'm mind blown reading some of these responses tbh. I'm terrible with words and won't get across what I mean properly (Larkspur did that!).

He was tailgating her, she moved over to let him past. Frankly she should never have even been pulled over, he caused her lane change by getting up her arse. So yes she had an attitude, who wouldn't!!!!! Are you telling me if your pulled over for something that wasn't your fault and your pissed off you'd sit there and say 'yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir' she knew her rights.

You can see in the video once she explained why she was annoyed (due to him tailgating!!) it angered him, the refusal to put out the cigarette was yes stupid, but she was angry, and she was within her rights to refuse. He just ordered her out with no arrest caution, nothing just threatened to 'light her up' frankly I'd be abusing him after that too, he's a bully.

I'm sceptical about the hanging I'm not going to lie, im 6ft tall and it'd be damn hard to kill myself from something 5ft high. It's possible yes. However even IF she did commit suicode she should never have been there in the first place.

 

[LoraLoo]

I agree he was very unprofessional but I don't think her attitude was appropriate either. You have to remember police get shot and killed every day in similar circumstances. You can hardly blame them for being cautious.
I've been pulled over in the past and I complied.
I've Also been breathalysed in a supermarket car park which was embarrassing and I knew I hadn't been drinking but I still did it.
But no, as I stated in my original post aggression and violence like that was not necessary and there's no excuse for that, that's never ok. He should have waited for back up if he wanted to arrest her for what ever reason.
As for her death, I'm really not sure what to make of that. I can't understand why she was still there or how she had the means to do it.

 

[Boomerslady]

Yeah I totally see what your saying. It just escalated so suddenly and you saw him instantly get angry, you saw the body language change.

I think the fact I spend my free time on YouTube and have come across numerous OTT arrests recently it just hit a nerve. There's just no need for it, we are all human beings regardless of status. Yes he has to enfore the law but in a decent honourable way. Not threatening to 'light people up' what's wrong with saying 'I will taser you if you dont comply' I can't watch any footage anymore I get too emotional.

 

[sue_88]

I've been pulled over, and stopped before even entering my car, more times than I can remember. I used to work in a bar, finishing at 2/3/4/5am and obviously getting straight into my car looked a little suspicious, work uniform or not. It was getting annoying especially when it was the same officers but you know what each time I got out my car, complied with everything the police said and wanted to do. Even one occasion when the breathalyser failed to work I was driven to police station in a police car (about 3 min drive) to use another one. Every time I was clear obviously, but I still complied because they are an authorative figure no matter you're opinion on them.

I personally wouldn't speak to a police officer the way she did, regardless of what rights I believed I had. I have respect for people out their who are attempting to uphold the law.

It's a shame she felt she had to take her own life really, I'll never understand why people do that even when they're in the deepest of situations but over something so minor...? I have a hard time believing it was solely down to the isolated incident of being pulled over.

 

[LoraLoo]

Yeah I've just actually sat and watched it again. It's very hard to think that the woman is no longer here isn't it?
a very sad story and my thoughts are with her family, they must be devastated

 

[LoraLoo]

There must have been other reasons I can't accept somebody would take their own life over a minor traffic incident? Who knows. I hope her family get answers.

 

[Larkspur]

Well, I don't know, but if I were driving along the road minding my own business and suddenly got pulled over by a cop for not indicating a lane change, and then before I know it I've been roughed up and thrown in jail for three days on no clear cause with a $5000 bail that my friends and family weren't coming up with, and I've probably lost the job that I've missed the first day of, don't understand what's going on and have no faith in the justice system, I think it would be understandable if I was starting to panic and not think rationally.

 

[Tiff]

She was quite the activist about police brutality, so chances are she definitely knew what was and wasn't her rights when the officer pulled her over.

Do you guys think it was murder? I do think its strange that she called friends to talk about bail and apparently called another friend saying she'd be out in a little bit just to wind up hanging herself.

But I want to say I read somewhere that the motion sensitive cameras in the hallway leading up to her cell weren't activated - meaning no one was remotely near her cell for at least 40 mins before she died.

I've heard so many rumours and theories, one going so far as to say that she killed herself to garner attention to just how brutal her arrest was. I don't think that's the case personally though. But I will admit I'm struggling to figure out why she would. In the arrest video she states many times that she can't wait for the trial to be able to expose the officer's behaviour and attitude towards her.

 

[Boomerslady]

I honestly don't know tiff, and without conclusive evidence either way we will never know. However the voicemails she left friends and family seemed to indicate she had no intention to not be around to get bail/go to court etc.

I fully understand Larkspurs view, whereby the consequences of events and fear of what's to come made her take her own life in a moment of irrationality.

The other view is that she perhaps died in police custody. A brain injury/epileptic fit after the knock to the head (we did not see how hard it was) and they panicked and covered it up.

Or finally they went to far to show her a lesson and murdered her.

Like I said without any conclusive evidence who knows.

In all possibilities there is no need to be outside her cell for an hour or 2. If they did set it up to protect themselves they could've left her in there for a whole before 'finding' her.

Who knows, it's just all so so wrong.

 

[Larkspur]

I fully understand Larkspurs view, whereby the consequences of events and fear of what's to come made her take her own life in a moment of irrationality.

I'm actually not married to that possibility, but I think it's a plausible idea. What I'm really railing against is the narrative that she was just a crazy black lady who reacted disproportionately and irrationally towards an officer, and then killed herself as an overreaction to a minor incident.

That narrative allows people to shrug off what happened as "sad, but ultimately really her own fault". It allows them to look away from the obvious systematic and institutional inadequacies that allowed this to happen.

I don't have a strong opinion one way or another about what happened in that cell yet but I think there is more than enough doubt about it to merit a full, independent investigation.

 

[LoraLoo]

I've read that the pm showed she had cuts in her wrist that were at least 2 weeks old and that she had tried overdosing in 2014 after a miscarriage, which she put on her admissions forms at the police station, but that she wasn't feeling suicidal now
While I do agree with larkspur that the events could have made her think irrationally, I think for most people, in the grand scheme of things, would have been able to see the bigger picture and that it wasn't worth killing yourself over.
However, someone that may have already been depressed, self harming, or recently attempted suicide, and I can see that it may have pushed her over the edge.
She definitely should have been watched more closely.