Police were given a very specific set of instructions. Stop any vehicle for any infraction, or remote suspicion, and to observe all minute details that provide evidence of wrongdoing. Police were provided guidelines whose tactics matched that of the most dangerous areas of Baltimore and Detroit. The only difference in place is that this police department was located in the safe suburban collegetown surrounding A&M Texas. 

In the Summer of 2015, Officer Brian Encinia observed Sandra Bland changing lanes of traffic without a signal. He pulled her over, walked up to the drivers side window and struck up a friendly conversation. He returned to his car, ran her information, and intended to let Sandra Bland off with no ticket. In returning to Bland’s driver side window, Officer Enicia didn’t like that she had lit up a cigarette. He told her to put it out. She said ‘Why?’. He said, ‘Because I told you so’. Officer Enicia felt slighted, and wouldn’t move on. The situation escalated to Enicia yelling he would light her up, followed by a physical altercation and arrest. Sandra Bland spent the next three days in jail, followed by her suicide by hanging in the prision. 

The series of events should have never played out. The poor police protocols caused Officer Encinia to stop Bland, followed by his poor rationale to escalate the fight over the cigarette, followed by her spending three days in jail, and eventual suicide. The situation and analysis was outlined in Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Talking to Strangers. The book describes the mathematically predictable, and often irrational decision making that people make. Gladwell’s analysis of the Sandra Bland case highlights how these events could have been prevented, and why we need to consistently go back and see where we went wrong.