Sandra Bland Case Study

Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old black woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015. Her death was classified as a suicide by the county coroner and was followed by protests against her arrest disputing the cause of death and alleging racial violence against her. Officer Encinia stopped Ms. Bland on the afternoon of July 10, 2015, on University Drive in Prairie View, Texas, for failure to signal a lane change. In a series of events recorded by his dashcam, the officer spoke to Ms. Bland, the interaction became heated, and he removed her from her car. After they moved out of frame, he placed her on the ground and arrested her. After authorities reviewed the dashcam footage, Encinia was placed on administrative

The DPS then took down the problem video and replaced it with another version. The footage shows that Encinia initially wrote a routine traffic violation warning for Bland. After he returns to her car and speaks briefly to her again, he asks her to put out her cigarette. She responds, "Why do I have to put out a cigarette when I 'm in my own car?" Encinia orders her to "get out of the car", and, when she repeatedly refuses to exit, he tells her she is under arrest. Repeatedly asking why she was under arrest, and the officer responded by saying , "I am giving you a lawful order. Refusing to leave her car, stating she is not under arrest as she is unaware of the reason and not obliged to. The officer then proceed to opens her car door and tells her more than a dozen times to get out of the car before trying to pull her out. After struggling, he draws his Taser and points it at Bland, shouting "I will light you up! Get out! Now!", at which point she exits her vehicle. Once Bland is out of her car, the officer orders her to put down her cell phone and tells her she is going to jail. In response, Bland asks why. In the video, both Bland and the