Fox and Friends co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck suggested that Sandra Bland could have used her cigarette as a weapon against the officer who arrested her during a routine traffic stop, and is seen yelling and threatening Bland in a dash cam video released last week.
During Hasselback’s segment, former New York Police Department officer John Rafferty analyzed the legality of Bland’s traffic stop on July 10 for failing to use her turn signal. Bland was arrested, and later found dead in a Texas jail cell.
In the video of the arrest, Texas state trooper Brian Encinia asked Bland to put out her cigarette. She initially refused, and he shouted “I will light you up!” – with a stun gun in hand – and demanded Bland get out of the car.
When asked if the officer crossed the line in demanding Bland leave the car, Rafferty says: “It appears, obviously, he took this too personal…because she didn’t put out the cigarette, next thing he knows, he’s asking the person to step out of the vehicle.” Rafferty also noted officers can only ask drivers to leave their vehicles if they believe their safety is at risk, and that the department put Encinia on administrative leave after the incident.
Hasselback asked hypothetically, “But what if, I mean, there are times, I’m sure, someone has, in the history of this land, used a cigarette against a police officer, maybe chucked it at him, pushed it at him…If he indeed felt it could be a potential threat, was that the wise thing to do?”
“Absolutely,” Rafferty said.
Bland’s death was ruled a suicide after an autopsy last week, but many are still calling for answers about her death. Bland had recently relocated to Texas for a new job, and those who knew her insist that she would not harm herself.
Watch the full clip below, via Media Matters:
