Sandra Bland’s Death Could’ve Been Avoided

For a few days now, I've been trying to wrap my mind around the Sandra Bland incident. At first, I tried to rationalize the situation, but the more I think about it, the more absurd it becomes.

For starters, the reason the officer pulled her over was petty.  While I will agree that I am often perturbed by drivers who don't use their signal lights, I think the situation escalated more quickly than it should have.  The officer said Ms. Bland seemed upset.  I've never seen anyone overcome with joy about being pulled over, whether they were right or wrong. So, such a voiced observation was quite unnecessary.

Secondly, asking her to put out her cigarette, although it is her right to smoke in her vehicle, may not have been so bad.  I, for instance, am asthmatic. If I asked someone to put out their cigarette, it would be to protect my health. If they didn't comply, I'd do whatever I had to do to leave their presence as quickly as possible. Nothing more, nothing less.  I think this could have been done in this case.  It made no sense for Ms. Bland to be forced from her vehicle, or for her to be placed under arrest for a traffic violation.

It is my opinion that this lady was arrested because the officer didn't like her tone.  Her attitude was not illegal. Choosing to exercise her rights was not illegal. In what we cannot see during the recording, the officer was accused of slamming her head against the ground, which can be severely problematic for an epileptic. It could be said that she shouldn't have been resisting arrest, but why would a person calmly accept being arrested when she's done nothing wrong?

None of this makes sense.  It was a grave abuse of authority by this officer in a case which caused one's life, and it's not right.