- Mandy Thompson
- Dec 26, 2014
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by zen death robot
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http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/justiceforsandy-sandy-bland-death-texas-jail-sparks-questions?cid=sm_tw_msnbc&cid=sm_fb_msnbc
quote:
#JusticeForSandy: Sandy Bland death in Texas jail sparks questions
Family and friends of a civil-rights activist found dead in a Texas jail have launched a campaign questioning the authorities’ ruling of a suicide.
Sandra Bland was arrested after allegedly becoming combative during a routine traffic stop on Friday. She was found dead in her cell on Monday morning.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office said the 28-year-old died “from what appears to be self-inflicted asphyxiation,” calling it a “tragic incident.”
However, those who knew Bland don’t believe she would have taken her own life. She had recently moved to the area, about 50 miles west of Houston, and was due to start a new job Wednesday as a college outreach officer.
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis also questioned the circumstances surrounding Bland’s death.
“I will admit it is strange someone who had everything going for her would have taken her own life,” he told NBC station KPRC in Houston. “That’s why it’s very important a thorough investigation is done and that we get a good picture of what Ms. Bland was going through the last four or five days of her life.”
Posts featuring the hashtags, #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland appeared on Facebook and Twitter Thursday, and friends of Bland told KPRC they were planning a rally at noon Friday at the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. An online petition has been launched calling for the Department of Justice to take over the case.
Bland, who graduated from the nearby Prairie View A&M University but recently lived in Chicago, filled her Facebook page with videos in which she made observations about race in America under the title “Sandy Speaks.”
“Being a black person in America is very, very hard,” she said in a recent post. “Show me in American history where all lives matter.”
“Family and friends have no doubt that foul play was involved,” one family friend wrote in an email to NBC Chicago. “She was a very outspoken individual, who loved life, went to church and loved her family.”
This isn't an issue of class, or poverty, or income. This is an issue about race. What is wrong with us?! I don't like being the cop hater, I know they have a difficult and thankless job. We need police. But we have seen so many examples of police doing some truly appalling things that have no justification. A man runs during a stop so you shoot him and cover it up? A bunch of racists calls the cops about black people using the community pool that they had a right to be at so he pulls a taser and slams a young girl to the ground? How about finding out what is really happening given the history of racist abuse around pools? "I feared for my life" "they were resisting" are go to excuses but thank the gods for cameras.
For black people, this has long been a reality, a single encounter with the police can be a death sentence, barring that it can lead to a traumatizing and life ruining experience as police demonize and make judgements about black people of all social classes and then cover it up or even when caught red handed face virtual impunity. Black communities are under served while simultaneously over policed for stupid bullshit that everyone does If there isn't a camera near by police have a license to kill black people and can get away with it even if there is a camera.
What do we have to do to change this? This should be considered unacceptable by everyone.
Maybe I am being to inflammatory but seeing the reaction on twitter really gets to me. We have got to ditch the "Well they must have been doing something wrong" attitude and really question the police perspective.
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Jul 16, 2015 18:30
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Apr 20, 2024 06:39
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- Mandy Thompson
- Dec 26, 2014
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by zen death robot
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nevermind, there is another thread about this
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Jul 16, 2015 18:31
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Jul 16, 2015 18:30
