A police dashcam video showing the
arrest of a woman who died three days later in custody has been released
by officials in Texas.
Footage of the 10 July arrest shows Sandra
Bland's car being pulled over for failing to signal and then an ensuing
confrontation with the officer.
The coroner said she hanged herself in her cell but her family has ordered an independent autopsy.
State officials and the FBI are both investigating her death.
In the video,
released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the policeman is
seen issuing a ticket and then asking her to stub out her cigarette,
which she refuses.
When she refuses to step out of the car, he
tries unsuccessfully to pull her out. He then appears to threaten her
with a Taser and says the words: "I will light you up."
She gets
out of the car and the two of them move out of vision, but the audio
suggests the confrontation becomes physical during the arrest before
more officers arrive.
The arresting officer said he was kicked. He has been put on administrative leave.
Later
the video appears to have abrupt breaks in its continuity and is looped
in several places, suggesting it was edited prior to release.
Media captionWhat we know so far about Sandra Bland's death
Earlier
on Tuesday, local district attorney Elton Mathis said the case - like
all deaths in a jail cell - would be investigated like a murder.
The death of the 28-year-old is one of several under national scrutiny in which a black person has died while in police custody.
Other high-profile cases, since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson last summer, have sparked protests and sometimes unrest.
Bland's family has ordered an independent autopsy and called for an investigation by the Department of Justice.
Surveillance video released from the jail shows officers responding to Bland's death
Bland had just started a new job in Texas
Relatives say Bland would not have killed herself
Video footage did not show what
happened inside Bland's cell, but did suggest no-one entered or left it
until someone found her unconscious.
Jail Sheriff Glen Smith said his staff checked on Bland less than an hour before she was found dead.
Her
sister Shante Needham said Bland called her from jail, saying she did
not know why she had been arrested and that an officer had possibly
broken her arm.
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