Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Al Green (D-Texas) on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to investigate the death of Sandra Bland, a black activist who was found dead on July 13 in a Texas prison, days after being arrested during a routine traffic stop.
The pair issued the call following the public release of surveillance footage of her July 10 arrest in Waller County, just outside of Houston.
Green appealed for federal intervention from the floor of the House, while Jefferies sent a tweet simply reading “Department of Justice must investigate death of #SandraBland #PoliceViolence.”
“A person who is stopped for a minor traffic violation should not end up dead,” Green said.
The cruiser dashcam video, released Tuesday by state officials, showed Bland’s arresting officer, Texas state trooper Brian Encinia, threatening to use a Taser on her while she was seated in her car. At one point, Encinia also said he would drag Bland out of the vehicle, and yelled “I will light you up!”
Audio recordings of developments off-screen also evidenced Bland accusing Encinia of brutalizing her and using excessive force to restrain her wrists.
“You’re a real man now, you just slammed me, knocked my head into the ground. I got epilepsy, you motherfucker,” she said. To which, Encinia replied: “Good.”
“You just slammed my head into the ground,” Bland repeated. “Do you not even care about that? I can’t even hear?”
Bland was arrested on charges of Assaulting a Public Servant and was found dead in her cell three days later.
Waller County officials on Monday, after releasing some footage from inside of the prison, said it was too early to determine the cause of Bland’s death. Relatives and friends have strenuously questioned initial reports concluding that Bland, a civil rights activist, took her own life.
The county district attorney’s office on Wednesday said it was opening a criminal investigation into Bland’s death, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Green noted the county probe and remarked that “it is said the FBI is looking into it,” but said he believes the executive branch should deepen its involvement.
“Why not have the Justice Department look into it?” he asked.
“This is what the Justice Department is for,” Green continued. “To look into these questionable circumstances, of which too many have occurred as of late and, quite frankly, over a substantial period of time in our country.
Watch Rep. Green’s speech here.
