not indict:
Statement on grand jury decision in Sandra Bland case: pic.twitter.com/r1oFu9MHWc
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 22, 2015
Sanders shares sentiments with a whole sleuth of Twitter users as reported by our friends at Yahoo.
Others like Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress.org have a middle ground opinion about the situation who feels that two issues failed Sandra Bland: The fact that routine traffic stop and procedures weren’t adhered to which resulted in her being arrested and thrown in jail, and too, given the fact that she notated a previous suicide attempt, proper procedures in checking on inmates like her more frequently should have been in place such that if she did attempt suicide, it possibly could have been prevented, or attempt intervened:
Video of the arrest shows Trooper Brian Encinia rapidly escalating his use of aggressive tactics against Bland after she declines a request to extinguish her cigarette. Encinia initially pulled over Bland for failing to signal a lane change, and his encounter with Bland is uneventful at first. After he returns to her vehicle with a citation, however, he asks her “you mind putting out your cigarette, please?” Immediately after Bland declines this request, Encina begins to escalate.
His immediate response is to tell Bland to exit her vehicle. When she declines, he opens the door of her vehicle and threatens to physically remove her. Within 30 seconds of his request for Bland to put out her cigarette, Encinia is halfway inside the car in an apparent attempt to pull Bland outside. Within 45 seconds, he’s announced that Bland is under arrest. About a minute after his initial request, he draws his stun gun, points it at Bland and yells “Get out of the car! I will light you up! Get out!”
Later in the video, Encinia and Bland are off camera, but they can still be heard arguing as Encinia handcuffs her. At one point, Bland complains that “you’re about to break my fucking ribs.” At another, she tells him that she “can’t go nowhere with a fucking knee on my back.”
Encinia’s actions may have violated the Constitution. Though the Supreme Court held in 1977 that police may order suspects out of their vehicles as a safety precaution, the Court explained earlier this year that police stops “may ‘last no longer than is necessary to effectuate‘” the stop’s “mission,” which in this case was to cite Bland for failing to signal. Encinia’s rapid escalations extended this stop well beyond what was necessary to complete its original purpose.
Regardless of the legality of this stop, however, it is highly unlikely that his encounter with Bland would have led to an arrest if he had adopted a less aggressive tone. Indeed, he most likely could have simply given her the citation he had already written, waited for her to sign it, and ended the encounter. Bland would have never made it to the jail cell where she died.
Millhiser makes a good point (which, like teachers, and people in other authoritative positions are expected to rise above rather than emotionally react or exert authority over subjects) it’s becoming evident and clear that police officers’ authority being next to above the law has completely made many of them devoid (or unwilling) to detach themselves from emotional reactions to the emotions of the people they are arresting/detaining-having no empathy or understanding that many are afraid, nervous, or even guilty of something and afraid (and at this point), mistrustful of being pulled over by police anymore.
It’s unfortunate that unlike…let’s say a customer service rep who answers the phones to speak to countless irate customers and are expected to handle it in a professional manner while detaching themselves and not taking it personal (despite the danger and seriousness of their jobs) officers can too, elect to take on a not-so-personal stance (when pulling up on fretful drivers). Many just choose not to and unfortunately, are led by their guns, batons, badges, wide boundaries and buffers of the law-and so begins the confrontation and circumstances.
This kind of unwillingness to ignore the high emotions of scared drivers causes confrontation-and so begets unnecessary arrests, excessive force and other problems involved while being detained by officers.
Just because you have the authority to exercise your authority doesn’t always mean that you should, especially when the individual circumstance doesn’t require such full court pressure.
I feel that the fact of the matter is, no reasonably sane and sober person who is no danger to themselves or the world around them (who, as well, has a clear license and registration) should ever wind up in jail after a routine traffic stop…let alone being found dead there. In situations like such, all officers (clearly equipped with a Taser, baton, gun, bulletproof vest and defensive and ‘right’ side of the law on their side) should be more in control of the situation than to allow his/her emotions to rise from reacting to a mere, unarmed, upset driver-who’s mad about being pulled over 9no matter how disrespectful their ‘tone’).
Millhiser also makes a point about how procedures obviously weren’t in place for an inmate who, by her own admission, had been on record for having previous tried to commit suicide (as well, per Millhiser, at this very same prison, in 2012, another inmate received the same citation, was jailed, and too, killed himself. That being the case for a second time, Millhiser asserts that it’s obvious [that] proper procedures weren’t
