I have to say in watching it that while I can't stipulate that the cop did everything right-maybe he did some important things wrong-she really did act in a very investigative way.
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9002747/sandra-bland-arrest-video
I mean I would never have the balls to call repeatedly curse a cop to his face and say he's a punk and a pussy.
I know that her name has become a lightning rod Say her name! but Bland certainly did everything she could to escalate the situation.
Don't get me wrong I understand that there have been a lot of cases of very questionable police conduct and some situations that shouldnt' have turned deadly. I agree with the overall critique of police brutality and their need for better training and procedure.
But Ms. Bland seemed to want a confrontation. I understand that it's frustrating that she was stopped for not signaling and given a ticket-this has happened to me as well and I got a $300 dollar ticket back in the good old days when I even had a car.
But it would never have occurred to me that I should have cursed the cop out and questioned his manhood. I mean that's trying to instigate things. This doesn't mean that he did everything right or explain exactly what happened when she got into jail-how she turned up dead.
But its' clear to me that if she had not wanted it to this would never have led to a confrontation.
In this case she really seems to feel that she has the right to basically belittle the cop's authority.For those who see her treatment as unfair is the point that African-Americans should be free to curse an on duty police officer up and down and start screaming at him?
The idea seems to be that this is white people are allowed to do. That is not the case. If you become openly aggressive with a police officer that this will escalate things should not be surprising.
He had tried to explain what he was doing but she kept shouting over him. Again, many of the cases I have agreed have been police brutality like with Eric Garner. But her antics made no sense. I don't think anyone white, black, Latino. or other should conduct themselves like this and then represent themselves as innocent victims.
P.S. Her conduct actually reminded me of my brother's old girlfriend once when I was her passenger in her car in Boston. There was a cop in front of us and she started honking him and yelling out the window to get the f out of the way.
She was kind of an earth mother type with a hippie dad. My sense is in principle she hates cops. If it hadn't been a cop she wouldn't probably wouldn't have done this. It seems that Bland may also be like this.
I kind of think maybe it's a female thing. Women feel they can get away with this because of the categorical rule that a man can't put his hand on a woman.
Most men-even a big guy like myself-wouldn't think of doing this.
UPDATE: So in all honesty I don't see the police conduct as outrageous in this case. I do feel like some now seem to think that context doesn't matter. They see any black person who has a negative run in with police as an innocent victim. I agree that this needs to be scrutinized. But in this case I think Bland had a big part in what happened.
UPDATE: It seems that the trooper may have violated procedure though where hasn't been specified:
"Investigators, whom the FBI is now aiding, found the trooper who pulled over Bland "violated the department's procedures regarding traffic stops and the department's courtesy policy." Authorities didn't provide additional details, including what policy the trooper violated."
http://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/9002747/sandra-bland-arrest-video
I mean I would never have the balls to call repeatedly curse a cop to his face and say he's a punk and a pussy.
I know that her name has become a lightning rod Say her name! but Bland certainly did everything she could to escalate the situation.
Don't get me wrong I understand that there have been a lot of cases of very questionable police conduct and some situations that shouldnt' have turned deadly. I agree with the overall critique of police brutality and their need for better training and procedure.
But Ms. Bland seemed to want a confrontation. I understand that it's frustrating that she was stopped for not signaling and given a ticket-this has happened to me as well and I got a $300 dollar ticket back in the good old days when I even had a car.
But it would never have occurred to me that I should have cursed the cop out and questioned his manhood. I mean that's trying to instigate things. This doesn't mean that he did everything right or explain exactly what happened when she got into jail-how she turned up dead.
But its' clear to me that if she had not wanted it to this would never have led to a confrontation.
In this case she really seems to feel that she has the right to basically belittle the cop's authority.For those who see her treatment as unfair is the point that African-Americans should be free to curse an on duty police officer up and down and start screaming at him?
The idea seems to be that this is white people are allowed to do. That is not the case. If you become openly aggressive with a police officer that this will escalate things should not be surprising.
He had tried to explain what he was doing but she kept shouting over him. Again, many of the cases I have agreed have been police brutality like with Eric Garner. But her antics made no sense. I don't think anyone white, black, Latino. or other should conduct themselves like this and then represent themselves as innocent victims.
P.S. Her conduct actually reminded me of my brother's old girlfriend once when I was her passenger in her car in Boston. There was a cop in front of us and she started honking him and yelling out the window to get the f out of the way.
She was kind of an earth mother type with a hippie dad. My sense is in principle she hates cops. If it hadn't been a cop she wouldn't probably wouldn't have done this. It seems that Bland may also be like this.
I kind of think maybe it's a female thing. Women feel they can get away with this because of the categorical rule that a man can't put his hand on a woman.
Most men-even a big guy like myself-wouldn't think of doing this.
UPDATE: So in all honesty I don't see the police conduct as outrageous in this case. I do feel like some now seem to think that context doesn't matter. They see any black person who has a negative run in with police as an innocent victim. I agree that this needs to be scrutinized. But in this case I think Bland had a big part in what happened.
UPDATE: It seems that the trooper may have violated procedure though where hasn't been specified:
"Investigators, whom the FBI is now aiding, found the trooper who pulled over Bland "violated the department's procedures regarding traffic stops and the department's courtesy policy." Authorities didn't provide additional details, including what policy the trooper violated."
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