The uproar is growing over the death of black 28-year-old civil rights activist Sandra Bland, who was arrested earlier this month after a traffic stop in Texas. She was found hanging in her jail cell three days later, which authorities claimed was a suicide, but her family's questions have prompted an investigation. Newly released dash cam footage from her arrest shows a state trooper pulling her over for failing to signal a lane change. The video also confirms that the confrontation escalated after Bland refused his order to put out a cigarette she was smoking in her car. The officer then asks Bland to step out of the car. When she refuses, he points a stun gun at Bland, saying, "I will light you up." Authorities have said Bland was arrested because she assaulted the officer who pulled her over. But state legislators now believe Bland shouldn't have been taken into custody at all, and NBC reports the district attorney says he's treating her death as thoroughly as he would a murder investigation.
After questions were raised about sequences looping in the first version of the footage, officials released a new version that appeared to run consistently. They said no editing had been done on the earlier version; there were technical problems.
