Texas officials on Tuesday released nearly an hour of footage showing the arrest of Sandra Bland, whose death in police custody has ignited outrage across the country.
But the release of the video, full of jumps and cuts, and issued with the audio and images out of synch has activists calling into question the authenticity of the video. Some have highlighted edits they believe were made to the footage and are demanding an explanation from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Bland was found dead in her Waller County, Texas, jail cell on the morning of July 13, three days after the arrest. While an initial autopsy determined that the cause of death was "self-inflicted asphyxiation," the FBI is conducting an investigation and Bland's family has questioned the circumstances around her death.
Award winning Selma Director Ava DuVernay tweeted about her concerns over the editing of the footage on Wednesday.
"I edit footage for a living. But anyone can see that this official video has been cut," asserted DuVernay in tweet that has been shared thousands of times.
I edit footage for a living. But anyone can see that this official video has been cut. Read/watch. Why? #SandraBland http://t.co/2JXy9Zc4Y3
— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) July 22, 2015
The callous edits to the #sandrabland video expose the lie that police departments are honest & dependable defenders of the peace.
— Chris O'Rourke (@chrisorourke) July 22, 2015
There were jarring cuts throughout the footage, posted to the YouTube account of the Texas Department of Public Safety on July 21. While the images cut and replay, the audio plays continuously throughout the footage. The footage was later removed and replaced by footage without the jumps.
However, Mashable preserved the edits in the video below.
At 25:05 into the original 52:12 minute clip, a man can be seen exiting the tow truck parked in front of Bland's car. He can be seen walking towards the right of the frame and then the footage loops back on itself, repeating the same image of the man walking in front of the police car. This is just on example of several similarly jumpy clips that show passing cars disappearing and reappearing in the frames. The audio in the clip ends more than a minute before the video itself ends.
[video id=A0OThmdjprYxLIk0KW9gHudgQyFMBy9z]
The Texas Department of Public Safety maintained that the video had not been edited. The department issued a statement to journalist T.L. Langford on Wednesday denying any edits were made.
We asked @TxDPS if #SandraBland dash cam vid was edited. Here's the response. pic.twitter.com/97zbj3aYoQ
— T.L. Langford (@tlangford) July 22, 2015
Videos have been at the center of the continued speculation over Bland's arrest and subsequent death.
In addition to publicly releasing the dashboard cam footage of the traffic stop, officials have posted footage from inside the jail where Bland was in custody. A bystander video of Bland's arrest has also been widely circulated.
State trooper Brian Encinia, who conducted the traffic stop, has been assigned administrative duties while the investigation continues, according to Texas Department of Public Safety.
In the footage, Encinia seems to get irritated after Bland questions why he asked her to put out her cigarette, then opens the door and tells Bland he will "yank her" out of the car if she doesn't step outside. When she refuses, he appears to pull his taser, at which point Bland gets out as Encina yells at her, "I will light you up."
UPDATED at 2:00 p.m. EST to reflect the newly released footage from the Texas Department of Safety.