Police arrest video raises new questions

AUSTIN, Texas – When Sandra Bland refused to put out her cigarette, the police officer opened her car door and tried dragging her out of the vehicle. She asked at least four times why she was being arrested and got no answer. When she told him she had epilepsy, he shouted, “Good!”

The tense dashcam video of the 28-year-old black woman getting pulled over by a white Texas state trooper for not signaling a lane change renewed the national debate Wednesday over how police treat blacks and outraged some critics of law enforcement who saw a motorist who was squarely within her rights.

Bland, who talked about police brutality on social media before her arrest, seemed to be aware of her civil liberties.

And a range of experts said the officer’s orders to the 28-year-old motorist were probably lawful, even if his behavior appeared exceptionally aggressive for the circumstances.

Dozens of Iraqis killed by car bombs

BAGHDAD – A pair of car bombs exploded Wednesday at crowded popular markets in predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least 26 people and wounding 58, authorities said.

The first explosion took place in the impoverished neighborhood of al-Bayaa in southwestern Baghdad, a police official said. The blast killed at least 18 people and wounded 36, the official said.

Later Wednesday, a second car bomb detonated in the northeastern neighborhood of al-Shaab, killing at least eight people and wounding 22, police said.

Hospital officials corroborated the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief journalists.

Associated Press