“The Nightly Show” host Larry Wilmore experienced a “loss of cabin pressure” on Thursday night when he found himself agreeing with Fox News commentators and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about the treatment of Sandra Bland.
Sandra Bland, 28, was recently found dead in her jail cell following a confrontation with a Texas state trooper.
“The fact that we live in a world where black people have to strategize so they’re not brutalized by police is insane,” Wilmore said.
Fox News contributors said there was “no reason to arrest” Bland. Trump, who is a self-proclaimed “huge fan of the police,” said the state trooper was “so aggressive.”
“This is how you know how fucking crazy a situation is when I totally agree with white people talking about race on Fox!” Wilmore said.
Watch the video, from Hulu, below:
This cop has blood all over himself. I cannot tell you how angry I get watching that video (not Wilmore). This deliberate escalating of ANY situation by these cops bent on controlling others. Sandra Bland was not at all rude to this asshole; a bit short with him, yes, but totally reasonable. This cop is totally at fault for this woman’s death. I hope he gets his.
Even if Bland were rude to the cop, that’s not illegal. There was no legitimate cause for arrest. This cop just kept poking and poking and poking trying to get her to do something illegal.
At a minimum, he should be fired. But he should be brought up on civil rights charges too.
Personally, I thought she was rather respectful and reserved in the beginning. This man was itching for a fight. He did everything to goad her into being out of line, etc. This lady’s family should go after this cop with steak knives.
But she killed herself 3 days later! What in the hell was she doing STILL IN JAIL for failure to signal a lane change?!?!?! There is more fault to go around than just the a-hole cop. When I heard the interview of the woman who was in a nearby cell talking about how she was just crying uncontrollably, it made me sick!
And yet we have folks telling us this is all completely legal–stupid, but legal. And that means that the Model Driver In a Traffic Violation Stop needs to be mostly silent, give short answers like “yes” and “no”, deny being irritated or anything other than okay, and obey all orders (argue the legality later). The goal is to survive an encounter with a bad egg cop who has a gun and legal authority behind him.
I’m white and planning a road trip next summer. After this and watching the 77 year old grandmother being arrested at a traffic stop in Texas, I just plan to survive any encounters and deal with everything else afterward.
Oh, and I’m learning how to have my smartphone record lengthy stops–I might just be filming the overhead light but I fully intend to record the audio.