Can someone tell me #WhatHappenedToSandraBland

On Saturday 25 July, 2015 Sandra Bland was laid to rest. Her death weighs heavily on thousands of people nation wide and has started the hashtag #WhatHappenedToSandraBland and #JusticeForSandraBland.

The never ending cycle of unjustified deaths of AFRICAN AMERICAN CITIZENS still continues in America. Currently the Black Community is focusing on the tragic death of Sandra Bland. She was a graduate of Prairie View A&M and had recently been hired at her collegiate alma mater. She went from driving on a road to dead in a jail cell.

She was originally pulled over for not signaling a lane change. On July 10, 2015 Sandra Bland was driving near the campus of her alma mater when she noticed a police car behind her. She was in the left hand lane and immediately switch to the right lane to move out of the police officer’s way due to the fact that it seemed as if he was driving at a faster speed than she was. Upon switching lanes she failed to use her signal when merging over and was pulled over by the officer.

Below is the dash cam footage from her traffic stop and arrest.

From the beginning it seems as if this will be a typical traffic stop but unfortuantely it has a horrible ending which resulted in the death of Ms. Sandra Bland. The officer ( Brian Encinia) then asked her to put out her cigarette and she responds with its her car she has the right to smoke in her car. The officer then tells her to get out her vehicle. At that moment things unfortunately go down hill. Through the recording portions of the video seem to loop back around please take note of the following times where footage was possible edited.

25:18
26:06
26:29
26:40
32:38
33:05
33:24
33:56
34:06

Why would a video with so many (glitches ) be released to the public as if we were not going to catch on to the fact that the dash cam seemed as if it was edited. This was red flag number 1 for me. Next I became suspicious when her mugshot was released. In the mugshot she can be seen wearing the jailhouse orange clothing. This seems to be odd since typical the mugshot is taken as soon as the person arrives to the jail and are still in their personal clothes. In the mugshot Sandra also appears to be laying on the ground due to the placement of her shoulders, the way her dreads fall, and the facial structures and shadows that are seen in the picture. Sandra was also a woman who was nearly 6ft tall and nothing in her jail cell is reported to be that height, therefore how did a woman of that statue hang herself. Naturally the body will combat your actions to do what it can to achieve oxygen and the ability to breathe.

During the arrest Officer Encinia slammed her head into the ground and she stated that she has epilepsy and the officer responds with GOOD GOOD. She statds she can’t feel her arm and she thanks the by stander for recording. The police officer also has the nerve to say that the second officer saw everything when that is a lie she was called in for backup.

Below is footage taken by a bystander. The audio from this second video was provided in the dash cam but this video provides us with a visual of what was happening off to the side of the dash cam.

As I typed this blog, I listened to the dash cam audio and so many emotions ran through my body at this moment. I feel as a Black Woman in America I should not fear law enforcement yet I do. As an american citizen I should be proud of the colors red, white, and blue yet if I see them in my rear view mirror while driving I immediately tense up. I am not suppose to feel this way about someone who is suppose to help me. When did PROTECT OR SERVE evolve into COMPLY OR DIE. What rights do I have as an american citizen when it comes to dealing with a police officer ( state trooper).

Sandra Bland was not suppose to be in that jail cell, she should have still been a free woman, yet the ego of a law enforcement officer prevented that. Sandra did nothing wrong. She did what many of us would have done if we were to be arrested after we had not committed a crime. I would like to send prayers towards her family and towards the black community whie while we heal and try to figure out what really happened to Sandra Bland.

Remember To Always Be

Fierce and a Fabulous

xoxo

Lela Victoria