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Activist Sandra Bland Death Investigation Explodes: Top Officials’ Documented with History of Targeting Blacks

Friday, July 17, 2015 8:26
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(Before It's News)

 

Top officials involved in investigating the mysterious death of Black activist Sandra Bland “foud dead” in a Texas jail “tank” have something big in common. They both have a strong documented history of racism. Friends and family of the 28-year old Black Lives Matter human rights defender who died in custody Monday morning are calling on Americans to demand an independent investigation.

Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith of the Texas town where police pulled over Bland for not signaling a lane change ending 72 hours later in her death in a jail cell, lost his former job amid racism charges.

2008 Houston Chronicle articles detail Smith’s suspension for documented racism, as Daily Kos Shaun King reported. Smith’s office released a statement Tuesday alleging Bland committed suicide by hanging from a plastic bag in her cell.

“We have now learned that Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith, who made the first public comments about Bland’s in-custody death, was suspended for documented cases of racism when he was chief of police in Hempstead, Texas, in 2007. After serving his suspension, more complaints of racism came in, and Smith was actually fired as chief of police in Hempstead,” King wrote.

Smith and four other white officers were charged with abuse of power and racism after a fruitless drug raid and strip search that resulted in “humiliation and mistreatment” of a group of “young, African-American males.” When the allegations became public, other residents came forward with complaints of Smith’s racist actions and speech by Smith. The reporter who helped break that news, Isiah Carey, has a website, Isiah Factor, that is now sabotaged. Clicking his Twitter account url on his page links to a porn site. Factor advised Dupré today that his new Twitter account is @isiahcareyFOX26.

Smith was eventually fired. Then however, Waller County voted him into the position of sheriff in 2008, king reported for the Daily Kos.

Provoking even further outrage across the country, as this author reported Thursday and as Raw Story reports today, the Texas prosecutor investigating Bland’s death, Elton Mathis, also has a history of racial bias. Last year, Rev. Walter Pendleton, pastor of Pendleton Chapel Baptist Church, publicly asked Mathis to provide documentation on prosecution rates by ethnicity in Waller County. The prosecutor responded by sending a series of abusive texts. Mathis accused the pastor he was “too stupid” to understand the term “selective prosecution” and apparently threatened to send law enforcement after Rev. Pendleton.

“My hounds ain’t even started yet, dumb ass,” Mathis wrote. “Keep talking. When I talk, people will listen. Keep talking and I will sue your ass for slander. It works both ways, ‘Dr.’ Take your fake Dr. Ass and jump off a high cliff.”

Rev. Pendleton said he feared for his life because the prosecutor used a racially charged metaphor to threaten him.

“What do hounds do? They hunt,” Pendleton said.

Mathis admitted sending the texts, claimed to have simply attacked the pastor’s character and said he backs what he said.

“Those statements were made by me in anger, but I stand behind them,” Mathis said.

Mathis supported Sheriff Smith’s analysis of the cause of Bland’s death. Stumbling over his words somewhat, Mathis said, “It appears she had used a trash bag to hang herself from a partition in the ceiling, which was used to give inmates privacy,” said Mathis.

“It appears she had used a trash bag to hang herself from a partition in the ceiling, which was used to give inmates privacy,” said Mathis.

Bland’s family members and friends are calling on Americans to demand an independent investigation.
“Call Waller Country District Attorney and demand an independent investigation: 979.826.7718,” and, “Call Waller County Sheriff’s office. 979.826.8282,” they urge.

The FBI has joined the Texas Rangers in conducting an investigation into Bland’s death.

Although lists are incomplete due to non-reporting (police agencies hiding their killings), it is documented that police killings in the United States have surged. Updated 2015 estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimate the number to be around 930 or 1240 if assuming nonreporting local agencies kill people at the same rate as reporting agencies. These lists are incomplete, despite Congress instructing the Attorney General in 1994 to compile and publish annual statistics on police use of excessive force. The has never been done and the FBI does not collect these data either.

 

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Total 5 comments
  • Does anyone here actually believe what these officials are telling the public regarding the cause of Sandy’s death. I do not, not with their track records showing who they are, what their values and principles are.

  • Part of Marxist crap thing, “they” wanna start a race war.

  • I personally knew this young lady. We went to Prairie View A&M university together, and this is completely ridiculous. I remember my time out there in the area and the law enforcement is extremely prejudice I mean seriously the first semester of my freshman year was the first time in my life that I ever experienced a cross burning in the front yard!

  • Black while not making a turn signal is now punishable by death in custody. forget about land of the free – possible hope for the brave however.

  • Re; Activist Sandra Bland Death Investigation Explodes: Top Officials’ Documented with History of Targeting Blacks, [Or], Ignoring the Reason for Targeting Blacks,
    Is their really any one who does not know that the reason blacks are targeted by cops is the mass crime blacks commit, [really is their any one who does not know that], as to stopping the targeting of blacks by cops, has any one ever considered a way to stop black crime, (Other Then Giving Them Money).
    As to Lowering the White Crime Rate, has any one ever considered trying to Stop the Schools from Training Little White Kids to Act Like Blacks, (it’s really stupid for White Parents to be surprised that there Kids are Growing Up Acting Like Black Trash with the Schools Training them to Act Black), for the Stupid, [The Can't We Just Get Along Crap], Actually Only Means, Give Them What They Demand, For The Stupid What Ever Blacks Get Has To Come And Will Always Have To Come From The Hand, Or The Guts Of Whites, [that not Racism, It's Just A Fact], if you don’t desire for your Black Cousins to Be Targeted by Cops, Other Blacks Will Have To Police Their Own Black Cousins, as to the Cop Criminals, do to not being Controlled and the governments not being Controlled for way to long, to fix any thing requires, it appears for Blacks and Whites, TOGETHER to Clear Out The Government Before We Settle With Each Other, [Cops Murder People, Maybe And It’s A Good Bet They Murder Sandra, but the thing about is is SO What, You, Or Others, Doing All This Whimpering Will Do Nothing But Whimper About It, That Is The Reason It Go On Every Day And Will Continue Ever Day. (Trapper).

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