How can a traffic stop go to an arrest? How do you protect yourself?

You are absolutely right. If she only would of done what she was told to do by the Officer, she would probably not have been arrested. Why is it that people just simply refuse to cooperate with LE? Why do they argue and have to become arrogant and argumentative . That's what we have Courts for. The Court is where you argue your case, not on the Street. Let the Officer do his job and believe me, life will be so much better for everyone involved. If you have a problem with being stopped and even arrested, let the Court decide. I once had a Judge say to me, "your job is to just bring the violator into my Court. I will decide if they are Guilty or Innocent "

I've found that remaining respectful, even when they are not, is a sure fire way to ensure that things do not escalate out of control.

If the first thing out of your mouth is "Sir" or "Ma'am", the situation is highly unlikely to move beyond a citation. In fact being belligerent is a good way for your bad day to get worse.

I realize that respect is a foreign concept to many, but it has kept me from being cited everytime I've been pulled over (no joke).

If you haven't truly broken the law, just remain calm and do what the cops say. As long as the video and audio recording at the traffic stop isn't altered, then you will be ok in the long run. It's the somewhat shady individuals that seem to have issues at traffic stops and can't seem to follow directions. Please keep in mind, I'm not naive and I know that there are some shady cops out there too just looking to screw people over, in that case please just cooperate and hopefully it all works out because we know talking back and resisting arrest is not the answer.

For anyone who has been a police officer and made traffic stops or has performed some research of LE procedures and case law such as CPT (Join to see), there was nothing wrong with the police officers traffic stop which led to Bland's arrest. I have made several hundred traffic stops and most of the motorists followed all my instructions.

I was a police officer for several years. I did have to snatch up a few people. I was more of a laid back officer. I was not want to lay my hands on someone if I didn't have too. I think this is a example of "What could of happened" vs "what should have happened." She should have just obeyed the command and if not he should have exercised some restraint. He could have done what he did but I would rather swallow some of my pride than what happened as the result of this. This is so much bigger than one cigarette. It wasn't worth it.

If you didn't do anything wrong that you're aware of, and you comply with the officer, more than likely you will get a warning, or the ticket associated with the reason you were pulled over for. And before anyone mentions "white privilege" I want to inform you that I may be mistaken for white, until I start talking, then there is no way of explaining my accent.

CPT (Join to see)
I am the first person to call for police accountability. But at the same time, if I am pulled over I comply with the officer's requests.

I am also proud to say that I have not been pulled over in 3 years, because I don't drive like an asshole (usually, lol) and always make sure my SUV and motorcycle are in proper working order/legal.

Also, thanks for the education. I didn't know this much about Ms. Bland's story.

Do what the officer asks, don't talk back and go on your merry way. If there was something you didn't like or disagreed with, talk to an attorney or get help some way after wards

CPT (Join to see), I am pretty much a supporter of the police, but I saw a discussion of this case on CNN - both sides of the issue were represented - and I think the officer let his ego get in his way. The Sandra Bland proponent said that the officer could have de-escalated the situation at several points, but his ego was bruised, so he pushed on. End result, Sandra Bland is dead. I'm not saying that the police killed her, but I am saying that if she had not been thrown in jail for three days, she would probably be alive today.

This case strikes a chord with me because my wife experienced something similar recently. She wasn't hurt, but still. Here's what happened: She was driving on a country road in Georgia and a trooper pulled her over for speeding (70 in a 55). (Our two daughters, 19 and 14, were in the car.) When the trooper came up to the car, he asked my wife to step out of the car. My wife complied and yes-sir/no-sir'd him throughout the traffic stop. The trooper administered a roadside sobriety test (touch your nose, walk the line, hold your head back and close your eyes), which he said my wife failed. The trooper was rude and gruff throughout the test. He then arrested her for DUI, driving under the influence (of drugs). My wife does not drink or do drugs, so she had no alcohol or illegal drugs in her system. She did take two prescription meds about nine hours earlier.

My wife overheard the trooper tell his sergeant that "this woman can barely stand up" as his "probable cause" for arresting her and taking her in to a local police station. When the trooper had left her in the custody of the local police, they apologized to her and said it was her bad luck to be stopped by this trooper who is known far and wide in that area as a jerk. My wife asked for a breathalyzer test (when she thought the trooper was arresting her for DWI). He said he didn't have the breathalyzer device in his car. That alone sounds suspicious to me. When they got to the station, my wife asked for a breathalyzer again. That's when she was told that she wasn't suspected of having consumed alcohol, rather drugs, so no breathalyzer was administered. They drew her blood instead, which my wife gladly agreed to.

That was about two weeks ago. My wife was made to wait for eight hours to "sober up" before she could leave. And she had to pay $1,500 bond/bail to depart. Now she has a court date at the end of August to answer the charge of DUI. We are hoping that the blood test comes back in time for the state's attorney to see that there is no case here. If it doesn't, or if the state's attorney decides to push on with a prosecution, we will have to hire a lawyer to defend my (honestly) innocent wife. My wife called two lawyers. One charges $4,000 the other $4,500. All this because of an over-zealous (and lying) trooper who is apparently, according to the local police, trying to make a name for himself.

I asked our 19-year-old daughter if Mom was driving erratically or swerving or anything like that. Our daughter was sitting in the front and she told me (a) she would have noticed something like that because she's sensitive to other people's driving, and (b) no way was Mom swerving or anything like that.

So, while I still am generally a supporter of the police, I think the police can let their egos and their power go to their head sometimes. I think that's what happened in this case. My wife commented to me, "Imagine if I were black." Isn't that a very sad commentary?! She said the Confederate flag was flying in front of the police station in Georgia. I realize that's a topic for another day/thread.

I say it's a real tragedy that Sandra Bland is dead. She could have been more respectful to the police officer - no doubt - but the police officer didn't have to assert his "almighty" power and wind up with his knee in her back and her face jammed into the ground because she failed to signal a lane change. For crying out loud! That turned into a person dying. How terribly sad!

CPT (Join to see) - The best way to avoid problems with the police is to remain calm and courteous, and obey all lawful commands and requests. Unless the officer is asking you to do something illegal or immoral, it is always best to comply. If you feel the request was out of line, you can complain to the correct authority after the fact.

I can't tell you the number of times I have had to deal with this issue, after the fact, and the vast majority could have been avoided by simply obeying the lawful order of the officer.