VIDEO: Sandra Bland’s prophetic thoughts on social media activism

“Social media is powerful. We can do something with this. If we wanted change, we could truly make it happen,” Bland said.

Since the details of the death surfaced, Twitter and Facebook users in numbers have questioned the circumstances of Bland’s death and driven trending topics such as #IfIDieInPoliceCustody.

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Bland was on her way to her new job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, near Houston, when she was pulled over on July 10 at 4.30pm for changing lanes without signalling. She was found dead in her cell at 9am on July 13, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.

Police said Bland committed suicide by asphyxiation with a plastic bag over head. The incident has since Monday been made into a murder investigation.

Challenges to the claims of suicide have been made by Bland’s family and widespread skepticism on social media, particularly in the wake of racially-charged cases of police killings in the US.

Bland was arrested for allegedly assaulting a public servant after becoming “uncooperative” during the traffic stop, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A preliminary investigation by the department found the arresting officer violated the department’s procedures regarding traffic stops.

Texas police on Tuesday released a dashcam recording of the police officer confronting Bland. It shows the exchange between the two escalating when the officer orders Bland to put out her cigarettes and she refuses.

Suspicions around the footage, which The Department of Public Safety insists was unedited, arose on Wednesday when it was noted the video was edited, as a number of apparent discontinuities are seen where cars suddenly disappear out of the frame.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to watch the video.

– Caxton News Service