U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement Monday after a grand jury in Texas decided no felony was committed by the sheriff’s office or jailers in the death of Sandra Bland:
“Sandra Bland should not have died while in police custody. There’s no doubt in my mind that she, like too many African-Americans who die in police custody, would be alive today if she were a white woman. My thoughts are with her family and her loved ones tonight. We need to reform a very broken criminal justice system.”
If police officers were properly trained Sandra Bland would be alive today. One could make numerous statements of contingent scenarios regarding Sandra Bland being alive today. Chances are that if she put out her cigarette at the behest of the police officer, valid request or not, she would be alive today. But fueling racial hatred helps no one. Fact is, there are graveyards containing white victims that would be alive today if they if they were black as a result of black on white crime that does not sell newspapers.