Police release dash cam video of Sandra Bland’s arrest

The video of Sandra Bland’s arrest has been released by police.

Officials say they’ve asked the U.S. Department of Justice to help in the investigation of the death of Sandra Bland, who died while in police custody three days after her arrest on July 10th.

In the dashcam video, Bland is stopped for a routine traffic stop – the officer tells Bland she seems irritated and she agrees, reports ABC.

A few minutes pass and then the situation escalates.

“I’m going to drag you out of here. Get out of the car! I will light you up, get out!” the officer shouts.

Both walk off camera but the officer is wearing a microphone and it captures the heated conversation. He tells Bland to put down her phone, she refuses and replies “You feel good about yourself now. Why am I being arrested?”

Bland swears numerous times as he tells her to stop moving, handcuffs her and arrests her.

The two argue for several more minutes on video and audio.

Officials are investigating Bland’s death as a homicide, a standard in jail death investigations officials say.

Police say the 28-year-old died by suicide in her jail cell by hanging herself with a plastic bag after she was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer.

But her family and friends are questioning the investigation and have asked for an independent autopsy. They should have their results within 48-72 hours.

Bland, who lived in a Naperville – a Chicago suburb, was heading to Texas for a new job with her alma mater Prairie View A&M University when she was stopped by police for a routine traffic stop. Authorities allege she was “argumentative and uncooperative.”

Many people have questioned the police account of Bland’s death. Those who know her say she was anything but suicidal.

“Based on the Sandy I knew, this is unfathomable to me,” Sharon Cooper, one of Bland’s sisters, told reporters in Chicago. “People who knew her, truly knew her, the depth of her, that’s unfathomable right now.”