Sandra Bland Arrest/Suicide.

[Kara_CS]

Right. The jumpsuit for a mugshot isn't unheard of, but it's not typical. Nothing about the arrest or the way they handled a person with a history of suicidal depression was typical, though. Maybe that's just how they do things in Texas.

The photos in her booking file are definitely odd. You can't see anything at all because there was no flash. You can't even tell if those are her pictures. They probably are, and if so she had at least 2 forward-facing mugshots taken, which is also atypical.

What I actually think happened isn't wasn't a conspiracy. I think it was a serious of unfortunate events. Cop with a chip on his shoulder decides to pull woman over. Woman takes issue with this, is irritable. Cop escalates the situation, makes bad arrest. From there, I think he told the officers at the jail his version of the story (he was just doing his job and she was being a complete bitch and disrespecting his authority). She was a civil rights activist, so you can bet she wasn't quiet in jail. The officers probably got tired of her complaining and ignored her. She easily could have despaired over the impact her arrest could have with her potential employment, as Aragarthiel said. Whether through intentionally ignoring her for the hour it took (at least) to make the noose from the trash bag that shouldn't have been in any inmate's cell in the first place and hang herself to the point of death, or through simple laziness and incompetence on the part of the jail officers, she wound up dead. That incompetence could extend so far throughout the city's law enforcement that the coroner didn't accurately file the autopsy report (or conduct it properly at all). Could officers have killed her in her cell? It's possible, it's even plausible. But there isn't evidence to support that. There's evidence to question the possibility if one is looking at it from all angles, but nothing to substantiate foul play. I believe the officers at the jail are at least partly at fault due to gross negligence.

[Aragarthiel]

She was not completely hung fyi, she was still partially on her feet and leaned into it so to speak.

Oh, okay. I hadn't heard that. I could barely find mention of a garbage bag in the first place.

Also a plastic garbage bag ( especially a full sized one ) could hold her weight fairly easily.

That still begs the question, what was she doing with a full sized garbage bag?

[Gravekeeper]

Garbage bags are made of thin plastic and should not be able to support a fully grown woman, especially when you take into consideration that garbage bags in a jail are undoubtedly cheap and even more prone to tearing.

She was not completely hung fyi, she was still partially on her feet and leaned into it so to speak. Also a plastic garbage bag ( especially a full sized one ) could hold her weight fairly easily.

As for the mug shot, ehhh. That's a rumour swirling around the interwebs atm. Mugshots at that center actually can be taking before or after prisoners are given the jumpsuit. Depending on how busy it is, etc. So that's not particularly unusual despite claims to the contrary. Remember, this place is staffed by poorly trained idiots by all accounts.

However, the *side* profile mugshot is a tad odd. Given that its so dark you can't even identify whose in it.

[Aragarthiel]

Clearly it was the Jew-Lizard Illuminati led NWO who arranged this while we are going with insane conspiracy theories.

I agree with Kara_CS, even if it does seem a bit far-fetched, that was a bit uncalled for. At the very least you have to call into question the "hung by a garbage bag" part. Garbage bags are made of thin plastic and should not be able to support a fully grown woman, especially when you take into consideration that garbage bags in a jail are undoubtedly cheap and even more prone to tearing.

However, there are also good reasons for her to have committed suicide, with or without a history of depression. She moved for a job interview, if her chance at that job was jeopardized by her arrest then she may have felt that moving was a waste. I can safely assume that she was unemployed at the time and unable to afford moving back to where she had been, so that arrest could easily have left her homeless and unemployable. If she had felt that there was no way she was getting out of jail with a clean record, I could understand why suicide seemed like an option.

[Kara_CS]

That's what you're going to go with? Adorable.

Here, let me use smaller words so it's easier to understand. A woman was arrested by a cop with a chip on his shoulder, and then dies in jail 3 days later of an apparent suicide. The situation is odd, several factors are suspicious, and the facts aren't consistent. The information available doesn't add up to any clear sum one way or the other. The very fact that it doesn't add up is itself bizarre because a simple jailhouse suicide is pretty straightforward to report and investigate. What should be an open and shut case leaves more questions than answers and that is unusual in this type of situation.

Or, you know continue to be a prick. I never get tired of your pretentious bullshit, after all.

[Greenday]

Clearly it was the Jew-Lizard Illuminati led NWO who arranged this while we are going with insane conspiracy theories.

[Kara_CS]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.texas...psy_Report.pdf

The autopsy only complicates matters. There is a clear furrow from the bag that hanged her, but there is no hemorrhaging of the vessels in the eyes, the muscles of the neck, or burst capillaries in her lungs. The eyes aren't bulging from the sockets, the tongue is "unremarkable," which is to say, not discolored or swollen. The cardiovascular system appears relatively healthy and normal, and the lungs are also "unremarkable." The head is described as having "no epidermal, subdural, or subarachnoid hemorrhages." So, nary a burst blood vessel to be found. The airway wasn't constricted. And somehow, the report rules the death as suicide by hanging despite the barest typical signs of asphyxiation, let alone strangulation. Also, no solids in the stomach? If she hadn't eaten in 3 days, they should have been monitoring her even more closely (due to the history of depression and the suicide attempt), and medical should have been examining her daily.

[s_stabeler]

if what Kara said is true ( and I have very little reason to believe it isn't) then frankly, whoever decided to put her in a cell with a trash bag should be guilty of wrongful death, if not murder outright ( I'm not 100% sure, but isn't more-or-less deliberately giving someone the means to commit suicide illegal in and of itself?)

[Kara_CS]

There's a lot going on with this case that absolutely reeks with suspicion. My spider-sense has been tingling for a couple of days now.

First off, the arrest. She changed lanes quickly and without signalling because she was trying to get out of the way of the cop who pulled a U-Turn and came up fast behind her. She was understandably irritated for being pulled over by said cop for failure to signal. Yes, a police officer can pull someone over for that and ticket them for something so minor, but it almost never happens. What does happen, frequently, is that black drivers are pulled over for petty reasons by white police officers. The cop also had attitude from the start, because "You seem irritated" is fishing for conflict, and "Are you done?" after hearing her complaint is aggravating it. He had no legal authority to order her to put her cigarette out. He asked, she refused, he then escalated the situation. He then said "I was going to give you a ticket, but now you're under arrest." He did not advise her of what she was being placed under arrest for, he went right to trying to force her out of the car before pointing a taser at her face. This was not a good vehicle stop, and it was a bullshit arrest. The officer's dashcam video has suspicious feed loops, which the PD shrugged off as "technical issues." But it's plain as day that he was power-tripping and that he did nothing to de-escalate an upset citizen, but that he deliberately antagonized her. I mean, come on, even Fox News said he was utterly in the wrong, his behavior was unprofessional, and she shouldn't have been arrested.

Then she spends 3 days in jail on $5000 bond. She contacts her sister, a bail bondsman, several friends, and her roommate. She has every expectation that she is getting out of jail shortly there is no doubt, being a civil rights activist, she is going to sue the holy living shit out of the officer who arrested her. And then suddenly, she is allegedly found hanging in her cell. Most of what I have at this point is conjecture, and that's probably all I'm going to get. But here goes.

Her mugshot bugged the hell out of me, and I couldn't quite put my finger on why. The first time I saw it was a post from an Anonymous account on Twitter in which they claimed she was dead in the photo. What bothered me was the jumpsuit. First of all, I can't figure out why she had her mugshot taken in an inmate jumpsuit. When someone is booked, the first step is the intake interview (we'll get to that soon). Then they wait around in a lobby, which is where they are usually free to make a phone call from a pay phone with business cards from dozens of bail bondsmen around it. The "one phone call" is not a guarantee, but booking can take hours and no one is going to stop someone from using the phone. Then they are taken into a small room for fingerprinting and a mugshot. Then they get placed into a holding cell, where they can remain for several hours. After that, they are given a jumpsuit prior to being placed in a detainment cell. Other mugshots from the same jail show people in their street clothes, but Sandra Bland had hers taken in a jumpsuit. But the jumpsuit itself bothers me. It doesn't look right. Jumpsuits are made to be very loose-fitting for easy removal, especially if they need to be forcibly removed. In the mugshot, hers doesn't sag or hang, it rests neatly on her shoulders. Part of her undershirt is bunched up against the side of her neck, it almost defies gravity. Speaking of her shoulders, there is no slump at all, they are perfectly square, and her shoulders were set due to tension and nerves, her face and neck muscles would be tensed up as well. Yet the fat on her face and neck are drawn back toward her ears (I don't know but have read that rigor mortis takes longer to set in with cases of death by asphyxiation). Her hair is tilted back away from her face and toward the "wall." Maybe it's just a terrible picture, but if you're familiar with the term "uncanny valley," you know what I mean. It just doesn't look natural. Yeah, it really does look like an overhead photo of someone lying on the floor. Other mugshots show a clear reflection of the camera flash because the wall has a laminate coating, but concrete wouldn't show that as clearly. "But the floor in the jail is white," people have said. Yes, you can see that in the video and pictures. You can also see the bare concrete in the toilet and shower area of her cell. It's definitely something to think about.

Her intake report says she had depression and that she attempted suicide in 2014 after a failed pregnancy. At least, the hand-written report does. The report that was typed into the jail's system says she attempted suicide in 2015, but then for "Have you ever attempted suicide?" the answer is "No." This doesn't show much beyond a lack of attention to detail on the part of the jail's staff, though. However, the fact that she was depressed and had attempted suicide would have flagged her as a suicide risk and she should have been more closely monitored. Failing to do so is negligence to the point of dereliction of duty on the part of every officer working her pod (or block or unit or whatever term they use at the jail).

The video from the jail is a huge problem for me. I've seen it on dozens of news outlets. They say the video "clearly" shows that no one entered or exited her cell until they found her hanging. But the only thing they show is the officers going to her door once they found her body and then the response team arriving with the gurney and response kit. The same camera at the same angle would show her walking to her cell under her own power and no officer entering the cell with her that last time, but they haven't released it. Until they do show that part of the video, my suspicions will remain intact. Maybe, like the wonky dashcam footage, they had "technical issues."

And then there's the death itself. First off, she allegedly hung herself with a trash bag. At first, I dismissed this claim simply because they don't give inmates plastic trash bags. Inmates are usually given paper sacks, the only plastic bags they ever get are sandwich baggies and in cases when they are given plastic bags, they are the small wastebasket type that are only about 2 quart size. Then I saw the photo from her cell and she had a damn 30 gallon trash can in there, which makes no sense at all. How the bleeding hell is one person going to need a full-size trash can? My God, there is absolutely no reason for a trash can like that in a double-bunk cell. Jails generally require inmates to clean their cells every day, including dumping any and all trash into large cans (like the one in her cell) out in the common room. But okay, sure, the county pays for a few hundred 30 gallon trash cans (actually, triple that for replacements on-hand when needed). I saw several suicide attempts when I worked at the prison, several of those were attempted hangings. I never once even heard of someone trying to hang themselves with a trash bag. We had a guy try to suffocate himself by using his T-shirt to tie a plastic bag over his head, and that's how most people are going to attempt suicide by plastic bag. For hanging, an inmate is going to use their bedsheet almost every time. Otherwise they'll use their jumpsuit. Another thing about the hanging is that it is going to take awhile for a six-foot tall person to hang themselves from a 5-foot tall wall partition, because some of their weight is going to be on the cell floor and it's going to ease the pressure of their noose. I saw that a lot at the prison, most inmates did it like that knowing that they'd be seen in time to be "rescued" and they would get a nice change of scenery for a week or two being moved to the infirmary on suicide watch. This goes back to the negligence on the part of the officers, because there should have been time for someone to see her from the time she began preparing the bag, tying it to the partition and looping it around her throat, and actually hanging to the point of total death. Yes, the coroner's report shows consistent bruising with a hanging, but it could have been strangulation. I listened to more murderers brag than I ever wanted to, it doesn't take much pressure to choke someone to death, it only takes consistent pressure, and time. Besides, there are enough inconsistencies in the reports and video from the police and jail that I'm going to be a bit skeptical about the coroner's report. The family is commissioning a third-party autopsy, but I doubt we'll see much different since death by strangulation and death by hanging are so similar.

And then there's the question of why a woman who had much to live for would commit suicide after 3 days in jail. She had 2 job offers, which was why she moved back to that town. She was very active in fighting for civil rights. Her bail was a little outrageous for her charges, but she was able to get the $5000 from friends who were going to pay it, so she had every reasonable expectation that she'd be out of jail in another day or so. But, she was depressed and depression isn't reasonable or rational. Then the DA had to open his big, stupid mouth. He said the toxicology report showed she had THC in her system. People pointed out she couldn't have smoked marijuana for at least 3 days, and the DA said that THC is a mind-altering substance and that it doesn't matter how long ago it entered the body because the effects will linger. That's asinine, and he then changed his statement to say that she had to have ingested it in her cell the day she died. But that's still asinine, because clinical tests have shown that THC is an effective treatment for suicidal depression and bipolar disorder. The "drugs are bad, mmkay?" argument here is invalid. Also, officers at the jail found no traces of THC in her cell, including the plumbing. There's unconfirmed reports that the toxicology screen came back negative for THC, but I'm waiting to see if more reputable sources can back that up. It's still a moot point.

Does any of this prove she was murdered? No, but it does raise questions. Why was no one monitoring her more closely if she had a history of depression and a recent suicide attempt? Why, with the aforementioned history, was she given access to any plastic bags at all, let alone one large enough to be used for hanging? They didn't have to kill her, they just had to give her the means to do it herself. Where is the complete video feed from the last time she entered her cell to the time her body was discovered and removed? Why didn't they get her mugshot at the time she was booked? If they did, why take a second photo? Why does she appear to be lying on the floor in the mugshot? If they took a picture of her corpse and passed it off as her mugshot, why do that? That makes no sense at all, none of this makes sense, but it really does look that way and I can't think of any reason other than malicious glee over having the media displaying that picture all over and no one being the wiser. There is no need to cover up a suicide, but there is definitely something being covered up here. The question is, what? Until more evidence is available to the public (if it is), we won't know.

[s_stabeler]

Well that's stupid. How the hell is anyone going to bail her out if she can't call them to come get her?

Truth really is stranger than fiction.

a) You can call your lawyer. In a case like this (Sandra Bland, that is), the lawyer's first step would be to file for you to be released "on their own recognizance"- aka, bail of $0. ( on the basis that she's unlikely to be a danger to others, and unlikely to flee the area) If not, then your lawyer can almost certainly contact your family/friends for you.
b) it's actually somewhat rare for someone to be held completely incommunicado. Granted, cases like this, where an officer is being actively malicious, make up most of them, but it's still somewhat unlikely.

but yeah, it's surprising, but you CAN be denied the ability to phone anyone but your lawyer.

[Greenday]

Yes, she got her phone call.

[TheHuckster]

You don't have bail set until after you've been formally charged and had a bail hearing. You don't get bail if you're simply jailed. In most cases, by the time you've been charged and have bail set, most of your friends and family are aware of your situation, either because your lawyer informed them or the police informed them.

[Rageaholic]

no such thing- that's a hollywood plot device, usually for pure dramatic effect. The onyl perso you HAVE to be able to CONTACT is your lawyer. The ability to use the pone otherwise is actually a privilege- but if you are allowed to, you can get as many phone calls as you want. ( oh, and if it isn't your lawyer or doctor, then can and will listen in on the call- and use the call as evidence, if you do something stupid like say "get rid of the heroin- the cops have caught me" then you can damn betcha there's be a tape player in court.)

Well that's stupid. How the hell is anyone going to bail her out if she can't call them to come get her?

Truth really is stranger than fiction.

[s_stabeler]

heck, did she even get her one phone call?

no such thing- that's a hollywood plot device, usually for pure dramatic effect. The onyl perso you HAVE to be able to CONTACT is your lawyer. The ability to use the pone otherwise is actually a privilege- but if you are allowed to, you can get as many phone calls as you want. ( oh, and if it isn't your lawyer or doctor, then can and will listen in on the call- and use the call as evidence, if you do something stupid like say "get rid of the heroin- the cops have caught me" then you can damn betcha there's be a tape player in court.)

also, can we please not speculate on what other things the cops may have done wrong? All we know is she was kept detained for an excessive period of time ( you are supposed to be charged within 24 hours of detention, 2 days at the MOST if they have a good excuse.)-= there has been no suggestion that she was held incommunicado.

I agree though, that I do NOT want to be the police department, or any of the officers involved in this case, when the inevitable lawsuit is filed (off the top of m head, wrongful death ( they just need to prove she should have been on suicide watch- and as she had said she was depressed, and had attempted suicide before,she damn well SHOULD have been- and that that failure lead directly to her death) not to mention suing over the rights violations caused by her being imprisoned without charge for 3 days ( you get 24 HOURS))

[Gravekeeper]

You are wrong on this point here in the US. while watching the coverage over the last couple of days, there have been legal experts that point out there is a US Supreme Court ruling from the 1977 that does allow a LEO to order you out of the car for any reason mostly for safety reasons.

A LEO can order you out of your car during the "seizure" phase of a traffic stop ( you are considered "seized", legally ) without violating the Fourth Amendment, yes. However, the traffic stop was over at the point the cop decided to be a dick. The Supreme Court also ruled that a LEO cannot extend the duration of a routine traffic stop barring a legitimate safety concern or reasonable suspicion of a crime. Neither of which officer dickhead had. Legally, his seizure of her and her vehicle ended when he returned to her with her citation. At that point he no longer had any legal basis to keep her and her vehicle under seizure.

She is also under no obligation to put out her cigarette. Note her language "Why do I have to put out my cigarette in my car?". She is protected by the Fourth amendment in her vehicle and does not have to comply. By ordering her out of the car, the officer removes that protection and can technically legally order her to put out her cigarette. Just to be an asshole.

Additionally, the officer reached into the vehicle. By using this level of force, he re-initiated "seizure" under Fourth Amendment case law. Which clearly states that the use of force must be reasonable and not excessive and there must be a legitimate reason. Such as the suspect being an immediate safety risk to the officer or others. Which obviously, Bland was not nor was she guilty of anything aside from not licking his boots.

Finally, the officer may have violated her First Amendment rights if the officer's intention was ( as it apparently is ) retaliatory. Bland, in her vehicle, is protected by the First and Fourth Amendments. She is engaged in a constitutionally protected activity ( being annoyed at a traffic stop and declining to put out her cigarette ). If the officer's intent was retalitory and his resulting actions ( "I will light you up", etc ) intimidating in nature it could be ruled a violating of her First Amendment rights.

Which brings me back to my original assessment. The officer wanted a reason to retaliate against her for not Respecting His Authoritah(tm) and intentionally antagonized her into a position where he could technically arrest her.

Her death in jail is a separate matter and that is a failure on both the jail and its staff. Though given how she was arrested which led to the situation where she committed suicide ( left to rot for 3 days in jail over a lane change ) I wouldn't want to test a jury in a civil suit if I was this cop and his department.