In a supposed effort to quell suspicions surrounding the handling of Sandra Bland prior to her controversial death, officials in Waller County, Texas have released hours of jail footage depicting Bland alive throughout her booking process. "The reason we're doing this," Judge Trey Duhontells reporters, "is because of the misinformation that has been put out — both through social media and even through mainstream media — that has led to the rumors that Sandra Bland was in some way deceased, or harmed, or not well when she was brought in to the Waller County Jail."
Since being found dead in her jail cell earlier this month, Bland has added further weight to the growing call for police reform in the United States. Though officials deemed Bland's death an apparent suicide, Bland's family and the general public remain skeptical — citing the volatile behavior of the arresting officer (as seen in the dash cam footage) and the nature of the arrest itself. Many have suspected that Bland was murdered, perhaps before her mugshot was taken, though the footage above would seem to rebuke those claims.
However, this footage — and any subsequent footage or further attempts to damage the late Bland's character by using outmoded marijuana scare tactics — shouldn't undermine or stall the aforementioned call for police reform. Regardless of what happened within the Waller County Jail, Bland's initial arrest — from the moment she was pulled over for a supposed traffic signal offense — is all the proof anyone should need that police reform is an increasingly dire necessity.
