I know everyone’s instinct is to attack the cop, but he didn’t have anything to do with her death. DPS troopers do not have direct access to the jail cells at the county jail.
In TX, you are required to follow any lawful order given by an officer. You can complain later to his supervisors, the AG, the TX Rangers, but you must comply at the time.
It is standard procedure to ask someone to put out their cigarette because cops don’t want to breath in the smoke, the smoke often masks other smells from liquor or drugs, and because it is a safety issue since people have been known to burn cops with them.
In today’s environment, blacks, muslims, and illegals are getting extremely hostile against cops, even during minor traffic stops because they all think they can get away with it. This lady was an active member of the #blacklivesmatter protest so her attitude was probably extremely hostile. That hostility usually triggers suspicions in cops, thinking that the person could be hiding something or do something illegal, which is why he asked her additional questions. Again, that is normal protocol.
Once she refused to put out the cigarette, he could have walked away, but her refusal also gave him cause to pull her out of the car. If she had only gotten out of the car willingly, then he probably would have asked more questions and let her go. The fact that she refused to get out is why things continued to escalate. Her behavior set off big red flags.
I’ve seen this video compared to another video of a trooper in another State in which the driver was cussing at the trooper and actually tore up the speeding ticket. The trooper remained calm the whole time. The difference between the two encounters is that the guy in the other encounter followed the trooper’s orders, including the order to get out of the vehicle and pick up the torn ticket, and never touched the trooper. If that guy had not followed the orders or had kicked the trooper then he too would have been arrested.
She had a right to cuss and be disrespectful, but not disobey a lawful order. The trooper’s behavior may have been bad policy, but not illegal. However, her refusal to follow a lawful order was illegal.
It wasn't a lawful order.
You should probably watch the sequence again. IIRC he was basically done with the stop at that point when he asked her to put out the ciggy.
It is not standard procedure to order a woman of any color out of her car for not using a lane change light.
“Once she refused to put out the cigarette, he could have walked away, but her refusal also gave him cause to pull her out of the car. “
So “smoking in the presence of an officer” is a criminal offense in Texas?
There is no question that this woman intentionally ruffled the officer’s feathers. Black’s seem to be emboldened to behave this way with Obola in the White Hut. That said, they are still citizens and must be afforded the same rights as those of us who don’t have some racial axe to grind, and surely they don’t deserve to die because they act like a$$holes.
Agreed.