There’s a renewed reason people are saying Sandra Bland’s name.
A cell phone video Bland recorded during her infamous traffic stop four years ago shows the encounter from her point of view – and it’s not pretty. In the 39-second clip, Texas state trooper Brian T. Encinia is shown pulling out his stun gun and yelling at Bland, “Get out of the car! I will light you up!” After incredulously saying “wow,” Bland tells him they will take the matter to court.
Bland never got the chance because she was found dead hanging in her jail cell three days later. She was only 28. Her death was officially ruled a suicide, but her family, Black Lives Matter and many others were unconvinced.
The video was first made public Monday by WFAA, in partnership with the Investigative Network, during a news report. Bland’s footage has caused her family to call for the investigation into her arrest and death to be reopened, reported the New York Times.
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“Open up the case, period,” Bland’s sister Shante Needham told WFAA. Her family says the video confirms their suspicion Texas’ Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials withheld evidence on purpose.
“We also know they have an extremely, extremely good cover-up system.” Needham said. Texas DPS denies the claim, but Bland’s family attorney, Cannon Lambert, said if the video hadn’t been withheld he would have seen it during discovery in the case. He had not.
Public outrage is at pitch again and Sandra Bland is still fighting for justice from the grave. Her family intends to see that she gets it and the true story is told. Though Encinia was fired, Bland’s family says that’s not enough.
“[The video] not only shows that [Encinia] lied, but that he really had no business even stopping her, period … And at the end of the day, he needs to go to jail,” Needham said, reported BuzzFeed.
