A US blogger has sparked outrage by comparing being required to take a breathalyser test in New Zealand to the death in US police custody of Sandra Bland.
Ms Bland was taken into custody in Texas after a minor traffic violation, and was later found dead in her cell.
Huffington Post blogger Janis Powers said being pulled over for speeding in Timaru, and subsequently being required to take a breath test, violated her civil liberties.
"Things just didn't seem right when I was given a mandatory road-side breathalyzer test, just because I was speeding."
She described the test as "entrapment" and said she wouldn't be paying the ticket.
However, it was her comparison of the traffic stop to that of Ms Bland that has social media up in arms.Â
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@janis_powers Using the death of Sandra Bland as a vehicle to complain about a routine process in a foreign country seems in poor taste.
— Evan eht Nioj (@WritWord) July 27, 2015
.@janis_powers Comparing your minor inconvenience to a woman's death; are you really so aloof? Cant believe @HuffingtonPost published this.
— Viva La Vidro (@VivaLaVidro) July 28, 2015
Others noted that Ms Powers had, in fact, been pulled over for legitimate reason.Â
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@janis_powers You broke the law - twice. You exceeded the speed limit, and failed to pay a fine. You're a bad example to your kids.
— Laurie Fleming (@LaurieFleming) July 28, 2015
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