Texas looks into odd apparent edits in Sandra Bland arrest dash-cam video
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
The dashboard-camera video that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) released late Tuesday of Sandra Bland's July 10 arrest is 52 minutes long. Still it didn't take long before a writer and documentary maker named Ben Norton noticed some oddities in the video:
He's right. Oddly, while the video loops, the audio keeps going uninterrupted. Here's one of the more obvious examples, starting at the 25:05 mark in the DPS video:
DPS did not mention any edits to the video when it posted it online, and when NBC News asked about the anomalies, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said: "I will have to check in the morning. I can't speculate without looking at the CD" that contained the original footage.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Even before the mysterious apparent edits, the video was drawing scrutiny because of the questions it raised about why Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia arrested Bland, who was black. In the video, Encina demands that Bland get out of her car, and when Bland asked why she was being arrested, he pulled out his Taser and yelled: "Get out of the car! I will light you up!" Bland, 28 and starting a new job, was found dead in her jail cell on July 13. The state coroner has ruled it a suicide.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Why is the Trump administration talking about ‘Western civilization’?Talking Points Rubio says Europe, US bonded by religion and ancestry
-
Quentin Deranque: a student’s death energizes the French far rightIN THE SPOTLIGHT Reactions to the violent killing of an ultraconservative activist offer a glimpse at the culture wars roiling France ahead of next year’s elections
-
Secured vs. unsecured loans: how do they differ and which is better?the explainer They are distinguished by the level of risk and the inclusion of collateral
-
Maxwell pleads 5th, offers Epstein answers for pardonSpeed Read She offered to talk only if she first received a pardon from President Donald Trump
-
Hong Kong jails democracy advocate Jimmy LaiSpeed Read The former media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison
-
Ex-Illinois deputy gets 20 years for Massey murderSpeed Read Sean Grayson was sentenced for the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey
-
Sole suspect in Brown, MIT shootings found deadSpeed Read The mass shooting suspect, a former Brown grad student, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
