DPS: Sandra Bland Hempstead arrest dash cam video not edited
HEMPSTEAD, TX (KTRK) -- The Texas Department of Public Safety says that dash cam video released yesterday in the arrest of Sandra Bland was not edited.
DPS released the following statement today:
The 52-minute video shows some glitches at the 25- and 26-minute mark after a tow truck arrives for Bland's car. There does not appear to be any audio glitches.
NEW DASH CAM VIDEO RELEASED BY DPS (7/22/15): (Warning -- explicit language. Viewer discretion advised. Profanities were not included in broadcast)
The video appears to show a DPS trooper pulling Bland over for failure to signal a lane change not far from Prairie View Texas A&M University. The trooper is shown issuing her a warning, but the interaction escalates after the trooper asks Bland to put out her cigarette. When she refuses, he asks her to step out of the vehicle. She refuses again. The trooper eventually removes Bland from her vehicle and handcuffs her, but much of that happens off-camera.
A back-up officer eventually arrives on the scene, as does an ambulance. The ambulance leaves before Bland is eventually taken to jail.
Watch Eyewitness News' Foti Kallergis' full report on the video:
The Waller County Jail, about 60 miles northwest of Houston, is under investigation in Bland's death. Her family disputes authorities' finding that she hanged herself with a plastic garbage bag in her cell.
On Wednesday, Eyewitness News obtained a message Bland left on a friend's voicemail.
