*News of Sandra Bland’s death while in police custody after a traffic stop in Texas has captured the attention of Donald Trump, who weighed in on the situation during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Although he is a “fan of the police,” Trump slammed the officer who arrested Bland as he labeled him “terrible” and “overly aggressive.”
“I thought he was so aggressive,” the Republican presidential hopeful said Wednesday (July 22). “It was a traffic signal, as I understand it. And, you know, who gets out of a car for a traffic signal?”
“He just looked very aggressive,” added Trump, who criticized the officer’s conduct in a dashcam video of the incident that was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Tuesday (July 21).
“I didn’t like his demeanor,” the businessman told Cooper. “I thought it was terrible to be honest with you. I’m a huge fan of the police. I think the police have to be given back power. But this guy was overly aggressive. Terribly aggressive.”
Trump’s comments come after Bland was found hanging in her jail cell three days after she was stopped by the officer and arrested on July 10. The footage in the dashcam video surfaced after Bland’s death generated national news exposure. Upon its release, TheWrap.com notes that question immediately arose over irregularities in the footage that included pausing and looping, despite Texas officials insisting the video was unedited.
“Do you think that happens to African-Americans more than it does to you or I?” Cooper asked.
“The answer is it possibly does. It shouldn’t, and it’s very sad if the case is. I will say though, in this case I watched that so closely. I watched it a few times. He was terrible.”
Although the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston ruled Bland’s death a suicide, her family and supporters are questioning the finding while pointing out that Bland was not clinically diagnosed with depression and was “ecstatic” about a new job she was starting at her alma mater in Texas. As a result, the FBI and Texas Rangers are honoring the request of Waller County authorities to further investigate the situation.
TheWrap points out that Bland was staying with a friend while she was in Texas. After she was arrested, Bland she left a voicemail message for her friend from jail shortly before she was found dead in her cell.
“Hey this is me,” Bland says in the message. “I’m, um, I just was able to see the judge. I don’t really know. They got me set at a $5,000 bond. I’m still just at a loss for words with this whole process, how switching lanes with no signal turned into all of this, I don’t even know. But I’m still here, so, I guess call me back when you can.”
Bland reportedly told her jailers that she previously tried to kill herself. Sources state that Bland mentioned trying to take her life with pills after having a miscarriage. Bland’s revelations came while she was asked a series of questions that are given to each person booked into the jail in Hempstead.
Cannon Lambert, the attorney representing Bland’s family, stated that her relatives have no evidence that Bland ever attempted suicide or had been treated for depression.
As it stands now, Bland’s friends and relatives are holding off from pursing any legal action until the results of the investigation are made known. In the meanwhile, Bland’s family and mother are not commenting on the situation as well. Instead they are waiting until after Bland’s burial this weekend. Bland’s funeral is scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. Saturday (July 25) at DuPage AME Church in west suburban Lisle.
At a prayer vigil in Texas on Tuesday night (July 21), Bland’s mother briefly touched on the situation.
“She said ‘Mom, now I know what my purpose is. My purpose is to go back to Texas, my purpose is to stop all social injustice,'” Geneva Reed-Veal said.
In addition, Texas officials responded to criticism of the initial dashcam video with release a new, glitch-free version of the footage that shows Bland’s encounter with the officer.
To hear Bland’s voicemail message to her friend, scroll below:
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