Vanishing Car, Magical Truck Driver and Excessive Force in Sandra Bland Video

Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old black woman found dead in a Texas jail cell, death is looking even more suspicious after the release of the dash cam video. A couple of discrepancies in the video makes it look as if it’s been doctored or edited. In one part, a white car going down the road seems to have vanished into thin air. Then, a tow truck driver appears in the frame, walks out of the frame and then magically appears in his initial spot.

The actual video of the arrest is troubling enough when trooper Brian Encinia seems too aggressive in his handling of Bland. He demands her to put out her cigarette in her own car and then orders Bland out of the vehicle when she refuses. When she says she’s not getting out, Encinia starts to yank Bland out.

It only gets worse from there when he slams her onto the ground and arrests her and all for what? All for failure to signal.

Yes, Texas law can make failure to signal an arrestable offense and Encinia said he simply wanted to give a warning until Bland became uncooperative but it still begs the question – did he have to use force on an unarmed woman who never presented any real danger other than speaking out?

Is she just another name in a line of unarmed black victims who met their fate at the hands of a police officer? Will this death actually be taken seriously and lead to real charges against an officer who probably doesn’t need a badge?