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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/07/full-transcripts-of-sandra-bland-arrest-prove-cops-broke-the-law-and-made-false-arrest/trooper-encinia-sandra-bland
Since the newly released video of Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia detaining then arresting Sandra Bland, it has become clear that the entire arrest was itself illegal. But watching and listening to the video is one thing. When you see it all laid out in black and white, it becomes impossible to justify the hard copy language used by the officer. It is clear that he gave illegal commands and made a false arrest. If that arrest had never happened – as it should not have – Sandra Bland would be alive still today.
The African American civil rights and police accountability activist had simply asserted her rights, when the trooper gave her unlawful orders, which were only permissible if phrased (and accepted) as requests.
Three days after the false arrest, Bland was found dead in her jail cell.
Now, since that death, the video footage of the dashcam stop has come under increasing scrutiny. But long before it was judged in the court of public opinion, traffic stops just like the one in question were ruled on by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Democratic Texas state Senator Royce West weighed in on the video, saying that “once you see what occurred, you will probably agree with me she did not deserve to be placed in custody.”
The United States Supreme Court has proven to agree with this position.
Encinia’s conduct clearly violates a decision handed down by the Supreme Court last April.
In the case of Rodriguez v. United States it was determined that police were not allowed to extend the length of a routine traffic stop. That ruling effected lengths of even a few minutes, unless there was a clearly demonstrable safety concern or an additional crime that had been committed in the course of the stop.
But what is clear now, from the video, is that there was no other crime, nor a safety concern. The officer was acting in violation of the law, as defined by the Supreme Court.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg broke it down like this, saying that “[t]he tolerable duration of police inquiries in the traffic-stop context is determined by the seizure’s ‘mission’ — to address the traffic violation that warranted the stop, and attend to related safety concerns.” A police stop “may ‘last no longer than is necessary to effectuate th[at] purpose.’ Authority for the seizure thus ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are — or reasonably should have been — completed.”
Encinia was clearly completing the traffic stop when he escalated things because of Bland’s refusal to put out her cigarette. He later even indicates in the video that she had been “trying to sign the very ticket” when things got ugly.
That means his extension of the stop past that point – when there was no safety concern, nor any criminal offense that had been committed during the stop at that point – constituted illegal detention and a subsequent false arrest.
Trooper Encinia broke the law and he is not being held accountable for it.
The fact is that a lit cigarette has no jurisprudencial precedence in being regarded as a “safety threat” to police officers. He had no grounds to tell her to put it out, nor did he even phrase his request as a command.
Encinia, in fact, neglected to even mention the cigarette in his official incident report. He also failed to mention his threats or the fact that he pulled and aimed his Taser at Bland over this illegal command.
It is clear from the video that the Supreme Court ruling is directly relevant to this case. Trooper Encinia made a false arrest, and in this case, he is not exempted by qualified immunity. He can and should be held accountable and punished for the false arrest.
The following exchange was transcribed thanks to the Huffington Post’s Matt Ramos and Dhyana Taylor. It shows what happens in the dashcam video, as Encinia quickly drives up on Bland. Seeing it all in print seems to highlight just how illegal the trooper’s actions were.
State Trooper Brian Encinia: Hello ma’am. We’re the Texas Highway Patrol and the reason for your stop is because you failed to signal the lane change. Do you have your driver’s license and registration with you? What’s wrong? How long have you been in Texas?
Sandra Bland: Got here just today.
Encinia: OK. Do you have a driver’s license? (Pause) OK, where you headed to now? Give me a few minutes.
(Bland inaudible)
(Encinia returns to his car for several minutes, then approaches Bland again.)
Encinia: OK, ma’am. (Pause.) You OK?
Bland: I’m waiting on you. This is your job. I’m waiting on you. When’re you going to let me go?
Encinia: I don’t know, you seem very really irritated.
Bland: I am. I really am. I feel like it’s crap what I’m getting a ticket for. I was getting out of your way. You were speeding up, tailing me, so I move over and you stop me. So yeah, I am a little irritated, but that doesn’t stop you from giving me a ticket, so [inaudible] ticket.
Encinia: Are you done?
Bland: You asked me what was wrong, now I told you.
Encinia: OK.
Bland: So now I’m done, yeah.
Encinia: You mind putting out your cigarette, please? If you don’t mind?
Bland: I’m in my car, why do I have to put out my cigarette?
Encinia: Well you can step on out now.
Bland: I don’t have to step out of my car.
Encinia: Step out of the car.
Bland: Why am I …
Encinia: Step out of the car!
Bland: No, you don’t have the right. No, you don’t have the right.
Encinia: Step out of the car.
Bland: You do not have the right. You do not have the right to do this.
Encinia: I do have the right, now step out or I will remove you.
Bland: I refuse to talk to you other than to identify myself. [crosstalk] I am getting removed for a failure to signal?
Encinia: Step out or I will remove you. I’m giving you a lawful order.
Get out of the car now or I’m going to remove you.
Bland: And I’m calling my lawyer.
Encinia: I’m going to yank you out of here. (Reaches inside the car.)
Bland: OK, you’re going to yank me out of my car? OK, alright.
Encinia (calling in backup): 2547.
Bland: Let’s do this.
Encinia: Yeah, we’re going to. (Grabs for Bland.)
Bland: Don’t touch me!
Encinia: Get out of the car!
Bland: Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me! I’m not under arrest — you don’t have the right to take me out of the car.
Encinia: You are under arrest!
Bland: I’m under arrest? For what? For what? For what?
Encinia (to dispatch): 2547 county fm 1098 (inaudible) send me another unit. (To Bland) Get out of the car! Get out of the car now!
Bland: Why am I being apprehended? You’re trying to give me a ticket for failure …
Encinia: I said get out of the car!
Bland: Why am I being apprehended? You just opened my —
Encinia: I‘m giving you a lawful order. I’m going to drag you out of here.
Bland: So you’re threatening to drag me out of my own car?
Encinia: Get out of the car!
Bland: And then you’re going to [crosstalk] me?
Encinia: I will light you up! Get out! Now! (Draws stun gun and points it at Bland.)
Bland: Wow. Wow. (Bland exits car.)
Encinia: Get out. Now. Get out of the car!
Bland: For a failure to signal? You’re doing all of this for a failure to signal?
Encinia: Get over there.
Bland: Right. yeah, lets take this to court, let’s do this.
Encinia: Go ahead.
Bland: For a failure to signal? Yup, for a failure to signal!
Encinia: Get off the phone!
Bland: (crosstalk)
Encinia: Get off the phone! Put your phone down!
Bland: I’m not on the phone. I have a right to record. This is my property. Sir?
Encinia: Put your phone down right now. Put your phone down!
(Bland slams phone down on her trunk.)
Bland: For a very failure to signal. My goodness. Y’all are interesting. Very interesting.
Encinia: Come over here. Come over here now.
Bland: You feelin’ good about yourself?
Encinia: Stand right here. Stand right there.
Bland: You feelin’ good about yourself? For a failure to signal? You feel real good about yourself don’t you? You feel good about yourself don’t you?
Encinia: Turn around. Turn around. Turn around now. Put your hands behind your back.
Bland: Why am I being arrested?
Encinia: Turn around …
Bland: Why can’t you …
Encinia: I’m giving you a lawful order. I will tell you.
Bland: Why am I being arrested?
Encinia: Turn around!
Bland: Why won’t you tell me that part?
Encinia: I’m giving you a lawful order. Turn around …
Bland: Why will you not tell me what’s going on?
Encinia: You are not complying.
Bland: I’m not complying ’cause you just pulled me out of my car.
Encinia: Turn around.
Bland: Are you very kidding me? This is some bull…
Encinia: Put your hands behind your back.
Bland: ‘Cause you know this straight bullshit. And you’re full of shit. Full of straight shit. That’s all y’all are is some straight scared cops. South Carolina got y’all .. asses scared. That’s all it is. very scared of a female.
Encinia: If you would’ve just listened.
Bland: I was trying to sign the very ticket — whatever.
Encinia: Stop moving!
Bland: Are you very serious?
Encinia: Stop moving!
Bland: Oh I can’t wait ’til we go to court. Ooh I can’t wait. I cannot wait ’til we go to court. I can’t wait. Oh I can’t wait! You want me to sit down now?
Encinia: No.
Bland: Or are you going to throw me to the floor? That would make you feel better about yourself?
Encinia: Knock it off!
Bland: Nah that would make you feel better about yourself. That would make you feel real good wouldn’t it? Pussy ass. very pussy. For a failure to signal you’re doing all of this. In little ass Praire View, Texas. My God they must have …
Encinia: You were getting a warning, until now you’re going to jail.
Bland: I’m getting a — for what? For what?
Encinia: You can come read.
Bland: I’m getting a warning for what? For what!?
Encinia: Stay right here.
Bland: Well you just pointed me over there! Get your mind right.
Encinia: I said stay over here. Stay over here.
Bland: Ooh I swear on my life, y’all are some pussies. A pussy-ass cop, for a very signal you’re gonna take me to jail.
Encinia (to dispatch, or an officer arriving on scene): I got her in control she’s in some handcuffs.
Bland: For a very ticket. What a pussy. What a pussy. You’re about to break my very wrist!
Encinia: Stop moving.
Bland: I’m standing still! You keep moving me, goddammit.
Encinia: Stay right here. Stand right there.
Bland: Don’t touch me. very pussy — for a traffic ticket (inaudible).
(door slams)
Encinia: Come read right over here. This right here says ‘a warning.’ You started creating the problems.
Bland: You asked me what was wrong!
Encinia: Do you have anything on your person that’s illegal?
Bland: Do I feel like I have anything on me? This a very maxi dress.
Encinia: I’m going to remove your glasses.
Bland: This a maxi dress. (Inaudible) very assholes.
Encinia: Come over here.
Bland: You about to break my wrist. Can you stop? You’re about to very break my wrist! Stop!!!
Encinia: Stop now! Stop it! If you would stop resisting.
Female officer: Stop resisting ma’am.
Bland: (cries) For a very traffic ticket, you are such a pussy. You are such a pussy.
Female officer: No, you are. You should not be fighting.
Encinia: Get on the ground!
Bland: For a traffic signal!
Encinia: You are yanking around, when you pull away from me, you’re resisting arrest.
Bland: Don’t it make you feel real good don’t it? A female for a traffic ticket. Don’t it make you feel good Officer Encinia? You’re a real man now. You just slammed me, knocked my head into the ground. I got epilepsy, you motherfucker.
Encinia: Good. Good.
Bland: Good? Good?
Female officer: You should have thought about it before you started resisting.
Bland: Make you feel real good for a female. Y’all strong, y’all real strong.
Encinia: I want you to wait right here.
Bland: I can’t go anywhere with your very knee in my back, duh!
Encinia: (to bystander): You need to leave! You need to leave!
(Bland continues screaming, but much of it is inaudible)
Encinia: For a warning you’re going to jail.
Bland: Whatever, whatever.
Encinia: You’re going to jail for resisting arrest. Stand up.
Bland: If I could, I can’t.
Encinia: OK, roll over.
Bland: I can’t even very feel my arms.
Encinia: Tuck your knee in, tuck your knee in.
Bland: (Crying): Goddamn. I can’t [muffled].
Encinia: Listen, listen. You’re going to sit up on your butt.
Bland: You just slammed my head into the ground and you do not even care …
Encinia: Sit up on your butt.
Female officer: Listen to how he is telling you to get up.
Bland: I can’t even hear.
Female officer: Yes you can.
Encinia: Sit up on your butt.
Bland: He slammed my very head into the ground.
Encinia: Sit up on your butt.
Bland: What the hell.
Encinia: Now stand up.
Bland: All of this for a traffic signal. I swear to God. All of this for a traffic signal. (To bystander.) Thank you for recording! Thank you! For a traffic signal — slam me into the ground and everything! Everything! I hope y’all feel good.
Encinia: This officer saw everything.
Female officer: I saw everything.
Bland: And (muffled) No you didn’t. You didn’t see everything leading up to it …
Female officer: I’m not talking to you.
Bland: You don’t have to.
Encinia: 2547 county. Send me a first-available, for arrest.
Female officer: You okay? You should have Tess check your hand.
Encinia: Yeah, I’m good.
Encinia: She started yanking away and then she kicked me, so I took her straight to the ground.
Female officer: And there you got it right there… I’ll search it for you if you want.
Female officer: Yeah.
Second male: I know one thing for sure, it’s on video.
Female officer: Yeah.
Second male: You hurt?
Encinia: No.
Encinia (to female officer): Did you see her when we were right here?
Female officer: Yeah, I saw her cause that’s where I (inaudible).
Encinia: This is when she pulled with the cuffs.
Paramedic: Your ring got you there?
Encinia: I had the chain, well, not the chain, but
Paramedic: You got the two loops?
Encinia: She didn’t kick me too hard but she still kicked me though.
Paramedic: Not through the skin, but you got a nice scratch. I’m a paramedic, that’s why I know.
Encinia: I know that, that’s why I made you look.
Paramedic: Did she do that?
Encinia: Yeah that’s her.
Paramedic: Yeah that’s cut through the skin.
Encinia: I wrapped it around her head and got her down.
Encinia (on radio): This is a traffic stop, had a little bit of a incident.
(Silence for several minutes.)
Encinia (apparently to a supervisor): I tried to de-escalate her. It wasn’t getting anywhere, at all. I mean I tried to put the Taser away. I tried talking to her and calming her down, and that was not working.
Well, I know, that was when she was in custody, and now I tried to get her detained and get her to just calm down and just calm down. Stop throwing her arms. You know what? She never swung at me, just flailing and stomping around. I said alright that’s enough, and that’s when I detained her.
There was something going on and she started kicking and kicking.
Yeah, and once I got her in the back of the car, that’s why I’m calling you now, because …
No, we were in the middle of a traffic stop and the traffic stop was not completed. I was just trying to get her out, over to the side and just explain to her what was going on because I couldn’t even get her to do what I was telling her. She just started going this is an mf, and you give mf for a ticket and lane change, she just started going.
I just stepped back from the car and was like are you done ma’am? I need to tell you why and what I’m giving you and she just kept on going.
I mean, I don’t have serious bodily injury (laughing) but I was kicked.
Assault is if a person commits an offense of intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another or you intentionally threaten another with bodily injury.
She’s in the back of the car right now. She requested EMS. She said, she said I threw her down intentionally, for nothing. No, I put you down because you kicked me. You were fighting back. I kept telling her to calm down, calm down.
Evading arrest or detention. (Inaudible). Resisting arrest … She was detained. That’s the key and that’s why I am calling and asking because she was detained. That’s when I was walking her over to the car, just to calm her down and just to (say) stop.
That’s when she started kicking. I don’t know if it would be resist or if it would be assault. I kinda lean toward assault versus resist because I mean technically, she’s under arrest when a traffic stop is initiated, as a lawful stop. You’re not free to go. I didn’t say you’re under arrest, I never said, you know, stop, hands up.
Correct, that did not occur. There was just the assault part.
Like I said, after I got her all her situated and buttoned up as far as getting her in a safe vehicle, under arrest, that’s why I’m calling you.
She just moved here, according to her, yesterday, she’s from Illinois.
She gave me her driver’s license. I came back to the car and started running her stuff. Print it out. Coming to get back to the car to complete and tell her what’s she receiving and what to do and so forth.
At that time, she’s still very much irritated and so forth. I’m pulling her over for she didn’t turn on her signal and so forth and so forth.
She wouldn’t even look at me. She’s looking straight ahead, just mad.
I’m at the driver’s side, I need to get her out of the car and over to the side of the car, you know, on the sidewalk, because I don’t want to be in the middle of the road while we’re arguing — or whatever, not arguing, I’m trying to tell her what she’s doing but she’s arguing with me.
That’s the only thing, I mean it too. When I had her down on the ground and the other officer came, I told her stop resisting and that’s when I told her you’re under arrest. At least I don’t think I did.
Yes, she kicked me, she started yanking away and trying to get away. And that’s when I grabbed her arm, she’s in front of me still. I controlled, I grabbed her by the shoulders and I brought her down into the grass away from the pavement.
Like I said, with something like this, I just call you immediately, after I get to a safe stopping point.
No weapons, she’s in handcuffs. You know, I took the lesser of the uhh … I only took enough force as I — seemed necessary. I even de-escalated once we were on the pavement, you know on the sidewalk. So I allowed time, I’m not saying I just threw her to the ground. I allowed time to de-escalate and so forth. It just kept getting. (laughing) Right, I’m just making that clear.
I got some cuts on my hand, I guess that is an injury, but I don’t need medical attention. I got three little circles from I guess the handcuffs when she was twisting away from me.
Over a simple traffic stop. Yeah, I don’t get it. I really don’t.
Why act like that, I don’t know.
Another officer to Bland: Okay ma’am, you’re under arrest. You’re going to be transported to the Waller County Jail, OK? Alright.
Officer to officer: Alright brother, appreciate it.
(Article by Jackson Marciana and Shante Wooten; intro by Reagan Ali and M. David as well; image via #Op309 Media, as usual; h/t to Huffington Post for the transcription of the video)
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:26 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-mullen/sandra-bland-arrest-wasnt_b_7849052.html
Sandra Bland's Arrest Wasn't Racism; It Was Something Even Worse
Posted: 07/22/2015 3:32 pm EDT Updated: 07/23/2015 5:59 pm EDT
It's easy to assume racism when watching the video footage of Sandra Bland's arrest. Admittedly, the first question that entered this writer's mind when watching it was, "Would a white woman have been treated this way during a routine traffic stop?"
I believe the answer is "yes," if the white woman committed the cardinal sin Sandra Bland committed. It wasn't her being black that started the tragic chain of events. It was refusing to follow a police officer's orders.
At some point between ratification of the Fourth Amendment and the death of Sandra Bland, the entire principle underpinning that constitutional protection has been lost. The Fourth Amendment assumes armed agents of the state can't be trusted to issue their own orders. That's why we have warrants in the first place. They are permitted only to enforce the orders of an impartial judge, who authorizes them to apprehend suspects upon the judge's determination of probable cause.
That's not to say many or most officers aren't well-intentioned or trustworthy. But their job is to use force. That role must be separated from the issuance of orders.
Had Sandra Bland been a murder suspect and arresting officer Brian Encinia serving a warrant for her arrest, no one would have questioned Encinia's conduct in ordering her out of her car. One might even find room to excuse his order to stop smoking, if she were assumed to be someone who had already killed another human being.
But Bland wasn't a murder suspect. As she quite rationally protested, she was ordered out of her car over a "failure to signal." She had complied with the traffic stop. I seriously doubt there is a law or ordinance requiring her to stop smoking while being issued a citation for a traffic violation.
Encinia didn't even phrase his initial request as an order. His exact words were, "You mind putting out your cigarette, please, if you don't mind?" It was Bland's refusal to comply with this non-order that incited Encinia's indignation and subsequent order to exit her car.
Ultimately, we have to look at what we are asking police officers to do and how we are training them to do it. Encinia may have treated Bland differently because she was black. We can't read his mind. But it's much more likely he treated her the way he did because she didn't exhibit blind obedience to his every whim, something he was trained not to tolerate and Americans of all political persuasions seem to have acquiesced to without question.
Life and property have to be protected. When a real crime is committed, men or women with guns are often needed to bring in the suspect to answer the charges. That only occurs after an adversarial process during which a judge assumes an arrest is unjustified until the officer presents enough evidence to persuade him otherwise. Until then, police officers aren't authorized to give orders to anyone.
We need to get back to that relationship between citizen and law enforcement officer.
This wouldn't hamper police officers from protecting innocent people from violent crimes on those rare occasions when they are present while they are occurring. All individuals have a right to defend victims with force under those circumstances, whether employed by the government or not. But private individuals don't have the authority to walk around giving people orders, even if they suspect them of having broken the law.
In a free society, neither do cops.
--
Related links:
The Transcript Of Sandra Bland's Arrest Is As Revealing As The Video
6 Things You Should Know About The County Where Sandra Bland Died
Sandra Bland Autopsy Shows No 'Evidence Suggesting That This Is A Homicide' |
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Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:45 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Think Progress
Justice
What The Supreme Court Has To Say About Sandra Bland’s Arrest
by Ian Millhiser Jul 22, 2015 10:54am
Newly released video of Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia arresting Sandra Bland, an African American woman who was found dead in her jail cell three days later, shows the officer rapidly escalating a minor argument over a cigarette into a forcible arrest. Shortly after Encinia brings Bland a warning citation for changing lanes without signaling, he asks her to extinguish her cigarette. When Bland declines to do so, the officer opens her door and tries to physically remove her from her car. He eventually draws what appears to be a stun gun and screams at Bland that he will “light you up” if she does not exit the vehicle.
Just a few minutes later, Bland is in handcuffs and off camera. When Encinia instructs her to “wait right here,” she informs him that she “can’t go nowhere with a very knee on my back.”
After watching the video, Texas state Sen. Royce West (D) commented that “once you see what occurred, you will probably agree with me she did not deserve to be placed in custody.” It is likely that the United States Supreme Court would also agree. Indeed, Trooper Encinia’s conduct probably violates a decision the Supreme Court handed down just last April.
Rodriguez v. United States held that police could not extend the length of a routine traffic stop, even for just a few minutes, absent a safety related concern or reasonable suspicion to believe that the driver may have committed an additional crime. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained in the opinion of the Court, “[t]he tolerable duration of police inquiries in the traffic-stop context is determined by the seizure’s ‘mission’ — to address the traffic violation that warranted the stop, and attend to related safety concerns.” A police stop “may ‘last no longer than is necessary to effectuate th[at] purpose.’ Authority for the seizure thus ends when tasks tied to the traffic infraction are — or reasonably should have been — completed.”
By the time Encinia asks Bland to put out her cigarette, the “mission” of his encounter with Bland is almost at completion. He has already written the citation and brought it to Bland. While she is being handcuffed, Bland even indicates that she was “trying to sign the very ticket” before Encinia tried to pull her out of her car. Had the officer not decided to extend the length of the stop over the argument about the cigarette, it is likely that Bland would have been sent on her way very shortly after she declined to extinguish her cigarette.
Under Rodriguez, a stop may be extended if the officer uncovers new evidence that provides reasonable suspicion that a suspect has committed some other crime, but cigarette smoking is legal so that could not have justified extending the length of the stop. That leaves one other possible justification: an officer may extend a stop to address “safety concerns” that arise out of an encounter with a suspect. Thus, if Bland’s survivors challenge this arrest in court, Encinia might try to argue that the cigarette presented a potential safety concern — perhaps he thought that she might try to use it as a weapon and burn him.
A search of the Lexis database of court decisions found no federal or state court cases that would bind a Texas officer which answers the question of whether a lit cigarette presents the kind of safety concern relevant to the Supreme Court’s decision in Rodriguez. Nevertheless, there are two reasons why a court should be skeptical if Encinia claims that he decided to extend and escalate his confrontation with Bland because of safety concerns related to the cigarette.
The first is just how rapidly Encinia escalated this confrontation. The officer never gives Bland a direct order to extinguish the cigarette — his exact words to her are “you mind putting out your cigarette, please, if you don’t mind?” So, even if Encinia did have the lawful authority to demand that she put out the cigarette, Bland reasonably could have viewed this as a request that she could refuse. When Bland did refuse, Encinia immediately orders her out of the car without taking the intermediate step of actually ordering her to put out the cigarette. This rapid escalation extended the length of the stop without a clear justification for doing so.
Additionally, Trooper Encinia did not mention the argument over the cigarette (or the fact that he pulled his stun gun) in his official incident report. If Encinia truly believed that the lit cigarette was a danger to his safety that offered a legal justification for his actions, then it is unlikely that he would not have mentioned it in the report.
Tags Police,
Supreme Court |
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Sun Jul 26, 2015 2:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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http://www.freep.com/section/OPINION/
False expectations define the racism in Bland video
By Stephen Henderson, Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor 11:04 a.m. EDT July 23, 2015
635731809648548406-AP-Woman-Dead-in-Jail-NYAG20
(Photo: Texas Department of Public Safety via Associated Press)
I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car, either.
Not with Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia worked into a furious rage over an unextinguished cigarette, pointing a Taser and yelling that he plans to “light you up” in the face of non-compliance.
I would have been frightened, rightfully. I would have worried for my life, justifiably.
And if I were Sandra Bland, the African-American woman whom Encinia finally bullied from the car and scuffled with, I might have met with the same fate: death, in a jail cell or somewhere else in police custody.
Death, as a result of a confrontation over the most minor transgression or misunderstanding. Death, as the end of a story that started with a failure to use a turn signal.
The simplicity of the connections I’m drawing here may seem overly cavalier, but they are framed that way for important effect.
This is beyond the point of absurd or farcical narrative. This is loss of life, brought on by furious triviality on the part of an authority figure vested with the responsibility to protect.
It’s Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, set on an American stage built with the timbers of centuries’ worth of racial prejudice.
Bland didn’t die during that encounter, but three days later in a jail cell, where Texas officials first said she’d committed suicide. Now, officials say, it’s too early to make that kind of determination. Her death is being treated like a murder investigation.
But put aside the individual details that surround Bland’s altercation with Encinia, her violent arrest and her eventual death by hanging.
What’s remarkable about the incident is how much of it fits into the dangerous backdrop of the structural racism that fuels and accompanies so many of these instances in which police come to the point of violent interaction with innocent or non-threatening black citizens.
A black woman is not docile, or subervient during a traffic stop. So an officer becomes enraged, and escalates to a violent confrontation. There is no suspected crime, no hint at illicit activity. It couldn't possibly be about potential criminality. Instead, it seems woefully, painfully, about race.
Think of the assumptions Encinia makes, the expectations he imparts to Bland, and the dynamically harsh tones in which he insists she comply with his commands.
He first expects Bland to be more polite to him than she is — noting that she seems “irritated,” which last I checked wasn’t any sort of crime. He then, while she is still inside her car, asks that she put out her cigarette — a courtesy, I suppose, but one that he demands as though, again, the law allows or compels Bland to comply with his expectations.
And then he insists that she get out of the car. Why? He refuses to tell her, but becomes enraged, pointing a Taser at her face and threatening to use it when she doesn’t obey.
Once the encounter begins, Encinia expects to exercise absolute authority over Bland, in matters related not just to his role as a police officer, but his personal preferences — that she not display irritation. That she extinguish her cigarette. It’s an expectation weighted by our awful history of racial inequality. And it’s what escalated a traffic stop over a turn signal to violence.
I don’t think you need to ascribe racist motive to Encinia, as an individual, to understand how his entire interaction with Bland is freighted with the kind of racialized assumptions, expectations and suspicion that black people face, unfairly, from institutions like police departments all the time.
And his behavior set in motion a sequence of events that now, and throughout history, have rarely if ever kept black people from harm. If Bland took her own life in that jail cell, that’s little cover for the ludicrous circumstances that landed her there in the first place.
I don’t think Bland should have been rude to Encinia when he pulled her over. Maybe she should have even put out her cigarette. But his haughty certainty about how she should respond to him, and his unhinged anger when she pushed back, speak to a much larger institutional problem that is not new, but is increasingly on display in the recording of incidents like these.
If I had been Bland, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the car, either — because I would have recognized Encinia’s anger and where it came from, and I would have feared for my life.
There’s a lot more to learn about what happened to Sandra Bland after the video stops, after she’s carted off to jail.
What we know already, though, is enough to cast serious doubt on our collective notions of progress and fairness in a nation whose promises are forged around both ideals. |
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Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:57 pm |
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