If a person has never been detained, awaited booking, held in an iso cell or even just on the inside of an institution, it can be overwhelming. If that same person has PTSD or is just "unsettled", being through the holding / booking process can very easily tip the scale toward self harm.

 

Even though this was initially a routine traffic stop, it seems to have escalated and we can't make sense why...

 

The entire story seems to have more features of internal disturbance for the individual than some nefarious action on the part of the jail.

Police have the authority to get you out of the car. I believe the supreme court case Pennsylvania v Mimms is relevant there.

Thank you. Does the officer have to tell you why he is pulling you out first?

 

And can the officer make her put the cigarette out?

Obviously sides are being taken over this issue. One common thing I've read is the officer was overzealous in stopping her in the first place. Speculation is that the reason she changed lanes in the first place was to get out of the oncoming officer's way.

 

The video shows the officer doing a U-turn when she passed him. Has the officer said in his report what caused him to follow her?

Thank you. Does the officer have to tell you why he is pulling you out first?

 

And can the officer make her put the cigarette out?

 

1.) Not that I'm aware of. You are required to exit the vehicle when told though. Same for passengers, but a different supreme court case covers that.

 

As for the cigarette, I'm not certain.

Obviously sides are being taken over this issue. One common thing I've read is the officer was overzealous in stopping her in the first place. Speculation is that the reason she changed lanes in the first place was to get out of the oncoming officer's way.

 

The video shows the officer doing a U-turn when she passed him. Has the officer said in his report what caused him to follow her?

Cops do "set people up" on the road. It happened to me in Henry County about five years ago on 71.

 

Cop was driving in the left lane in an unmarked car, probably going 5 mph or so under the speed limit.

 

I had just passed someone, and came up behind him. I got in the right lane and accelerated past him. He flipped on the lights, and wrote me a ticket for going 11 over.

Cops do "set people up" on the road. It happened to me in Henry County about five years ago on 71.

 

Cop was driving in the left lane in an unmarked car, probably going 5 mph or so under the speed limit.

 

I had just passed someone, and came up behind him. I got in the right lane and accelerated past him. He flipped on the lights, and write me a ticket for going 11 over.

 

Were you speeding?

Were you speeding?

 

Absolutely. I'm not saying I didn't deserve it.

 

I'm just saying I felt "set up." Like, the cop was trying to make that situation happen by the way he was driving.

I have no idea what the law is but I can think of two good reasons why a police officer might ask that someone put out their cigarette. First, it is possible that the cigarette could be used to harm the officer as the suspect might try to burn the officer with it, and second, the smoke from the cigarette might mask other odors such as the smell of alcohol on the breath of the suspect.

Absolutely. I'm not saying I didn't deserve it.

 

I'm just saying I felt "set up." Like, the cop was trying to make that situation happen by the way he was driving.

 

You speed past a police officer and some how they share part of the blame here?

 

I'm having a hard time understanding how this went so bad, so fast. It seems her attitude was not the best but when the officer initiated the conversation about "being irritated" it seemed to escalate from there.

 

As to what would drive her to suicide? Maybe sitting there in the prison she realized what the ramifications of this event and action might have on her new employment.

 

I will say this, who knows what drives someone in jail to attempt suicide or complete the act? My son works part time in the control room of the local city jail. He noticed and inmate attempt to hang himself on the camera mount and broke it up just a few weeks ago. You never know.

You speed past a police officer and some how they share part of the blame here?

 

 

Nope. Still not saying that.

 

I'm saying that he was trying to put people in that situation by what he was doing. That's it. I'm a big boy, nobody made me speed around him.

 

Nope. Still not saying that.

 

I'm saying that he was trying to put people in that situation by what he was doing. That's it. I'm a big boy, nobody made me speed around him.

 

And if he speeds, people will complain about that too.

 

See what I'm getting at?

If she would have listened to the officer, she would have received a warning and gone along her merry way.

If she would have listened to the officer, she would have received a warning and gone along her merry way.

 

Personally I think that is the heart of the issue. Some people seem to immediately turn combative with Police when they are being cited for something (even if it's a warning). That is a natural response from some. I think it was what made this a bad situation.

 

I go back to the suicide aspect of this case. Is it plausible that she had time to think of how it had all played out, that it was recorded, and that this might cost her her new employment? Despondent, she went over the edge.

After watching the video, two things come to mind.

 

1. This cop seems to have a little bit of an attitude and quite the hair trigger. This didn't have to go this way and he definitely helped steer it down this path.

 

2. Bland didn't do herself any favors and helped to escalate the situation with a very bad attitude that became downright belligerent. It just amazes me people get this way with police officers and how they just keep digging the hole deeper.