Dashcam Footage Shows Sandra Bland's Controversial Traffic Stop In Texas, 3 Days Before She Supposedly Killed Herself In Jail

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — Police dashcam video shows a Texas state trooper trying to drag a black motorist from her car after a minor traffic infraction, then drawing his stun gun and threatening her for refusing to follow his orders.

The video shows the roadside encounter swiftly escalating into a shouting confrontation, with the officer holding a stun gun and warning 28-year-old Sandra Bland, "I will light you up," for refusing to get out of her vehicle.

Three days later, Bland was found dead in her jail cell. Authorities say she hanged herself with a black plastic garbage bag — a contention her family and supporters dispute.

The video posted online Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows the trooper, who is white, stopping Bland for failing to signal a lane change. After he hands her a written warning, the trooper remarks that Bland seems irritated. The Illinois woman replies that she is irritated because she had changed lanes to make way for the trooper's car.

The conversation quickly turns hostile when the officer asks Bland to put out her cigarette and she asks why she can't smoke in her own car. The trooper then orders Bland to get out of the vehicle. She refuses, and he tells her she is under arrest.

Further refusals to get out bring a threat from the trooper to drag her out. He then pulls out a stun gun and makes the threat about lighting Bland up.

The case has resonated on social media, with posts questioning the official account and featuring the hashtags #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland. Others referred to #SandySpeaks, the hashtag Bland used in monologues she posted on Facebook in which she talked about police brutality and said she had a calling from God to speak out against racism and injustice.

In an affidavit released Tuesday, the trooper said that after handcuffing her for becoming combative, she swung her elbows at him and kicked him in his right shin.

Trooper Brian Encinia said he then used force "to subdue Bland to the ground," and she continued to fight back. He arrested her for assault on a public servant.