When a former NYPD officer criticized the police officer who “stepped over the line” during his traffic stop of Sandra Bland, Fox host Elisabeth Hasselbeck stepped in to defend the behavior: Bland’s lit cigarette was a “potential threat,” Hasselbeck argued.
The segment was framed around Anonymous’ call for a “day of rage” urging people to protest Bland’s death. But rather than discuss what the hacktivists are actually up to and what the results of their efforts might be, Hasselbeck brought on former NYPD officer John Rafferty to take a “very close look” at the now-famous video of the traffic stop that led to Bland’s arrest and her eventual death in prison a few days later.
In other words, any Fox watcher worth their “fair and balanced” knew this would be an exercise in discrediting Bland and, by extension, Anonymous and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Unfortunately for Hasselbeck, Rafferty criticized the officer who stopped Bland, saying he “stepped over the line” with his behavior.
RAFFERTY: Well, his own deployment obviously put him on administrative duty. So they already recognized he stepped over the line. When you take somebody out of the car, it has to be that you have to feel that your personal safety is in danger. It appears, obviously, he took this (Bland’s argumentativeness) too personal. When she didn’t put out the cigarette, now all of a sudden you’re taking her out of the car.
These, these cameras that the officers are wearing - you live and die by what you say with this. It appears, looking at this, because she didn’t put out the cigarette, next thing he knows, he’s asking the person to step out of the vehicle. You can’t take it personal. It’s the job.
So Hasselbeck took matters into her own hands to make sure doubts arose about Bland and to help validate the officer.
HASSELBECK: But what if, I mean, there are times, I’m sure, someone has, in the history of this land, used a cigarette against a police officer, maybe chucked it at him, pushed it at him.
RAFFERTY: Absolutely.
HASSELBECK: If he indeed felt as though that could be a potential threat, was that the wise thing to do on his part?
RAFFERTY: I think because you know and you have to know you’re being recorded—you have to say, “Listen I need you to step out to sign this warning.” I wouldn’t want somebody stepping out with a cigarette. I mean, I’ve had a cigarette tried to be - I’ve had somebody try to put a cigarette out on me. It happens. I guarantee, you speak to many cops out there. But the way you say it, unfortunately, you’re locked into it. Because now, it’s being recorded. Unfortunately, these officers have to remember that.
But if the officer hadn’t demanded Bland get out of the car, she could have smoked her cigarette in peace and even Hasselbeck’s rather ludicrous scenario would have been rendered moot.
Watch Hasselbeck ignore that point below, from the July 27 Fox & Friends, via Media Matters.
Lizzie needs to quit dying her hair blonde. The chemicals in the dye are eating whatever is left of her brain cells.
Nixon Trainee Ailes hires these blonde bimbettes to attract their over 68 male audience. Some of these broads are not that smart. They rely on teleprompters and notes to tell them what to say. Only a couple of them are intelligent and go with the flow to get that high salary from the Murdoch boys.
NOTE TO LIZZIE
Everyone at this Workplace Bully channel is laughing at your stupidity.
To my mind, the cop must have felt that his manhood was somehow threatened by this articulate black woman and he simply forgot that he was being recorded.
I do find it disturbing, however, that the NYPD cop seemed to feel that certain things cannot be done because every word and move is being recorded. In my book, certain things should not be done because they’re WRONG! Whether or not there’s a camera rolling is irrelevant.
My sympathies go out to the family and friends of Ms. Bland. I don’t actually care if she was depressed or suicidal or whatever. By what I saw on the video, she did not deserve to be in a prison cell for three days. All she did was talk back and the big white/man cop couldn’t take it.
“All this for not signaling a lane change?”
.