this is "nightline." >> tonight, the startling new developments in the traffic stop tragedy. >> stand out of the car. >> please re-releasing the dash cam video of sandra bland's arrest. and her own mission she'd attempted suicide in the past. tonight, hear her plea for help. the phone call she's said to have made from jail before she was found dead. the bull-riding pastor. what brings them together? jesus, they say. tonight, how one family's wild show is steering believers by the thousands to their highly unusual, entertainment -- >> jesus is a big dude! >> and controversial church. and anthony geary says good-bye after 37 years as luke

spencer on "general hospital." >> i'm going to have to find out where i'm going on my own. >> opening up about playing the anti-hero, romancing his best friend, and what comes next for one of the most famous leading men in soap opera history. first the "nightline 5" when salonpas began a single patch created the category of pain relief. 80 years later salon pas has evolved into a family of pain relievers perfect for back, muscle or joint pain. salonpas for targeted relief. macy's semi-annual clearance sale. get an extra 20% off with your macy's card or wild savings pass. section tv 62297 to get your wild p

good evening. thanks for joining us. how did a minor traffic vital end with death in a texas jail cell? tonight, fresh controversy as newly released dash cam footage shows intense interaction between sandra bland and a police officer quickly spiraling out of control. her loved ones sharing their anguish for the first time arguing that the arresting officer overstepped his bounds. here's abc's ryan smith. >> reporter: it was an ordinary traffic stop that escalated into this. >> get out of the car! i will light you up. get out! >> wow. >> now! >> reporter: the trooper arrests 28-year-old sandra bland. three days later, she's found hanging in her jail cell, a garbage bag around her neck. the ultimate question, how did someone involved in a minor traffic stop end up dead in a jail cell? >> there are a lot of questions

we have. >> reporter: the mystery began late friday afternoon. sandra bland is pulled over by state trooper brian ensenia. everything seems routine. >> hello, ma'am. the reason for the stop is you failed to signal your lane change. do you have your driver's license and insurance? >> reporter: a few minutes later the situation grows tense. >> you seem very irritated. >> i am. i really am. nor what i'm getting a ticket for. you were speeding up, tailing me, so i moved over and you stopped me. so yeah, i am a little irritated but that doesn't stop you from giving me a ticket. >> reporter: then he asks bland to put out her cigarette. >> you mind putting out your cigarette, please? >> i'm in my car, why do i have to put out my cigarette? >> you can step on out now. >> i don't have to step out of my car. >> step out of the car.

>> why am i -- >> step out of the car. >> no, you don't have the right -- >> step out of the car. >> you do not have the right to do that. >> i do have the right. now st out or i will remove o refuse -- does't step -- now! >> reportershe ge t of all the while trying to catch heriter the offic >> put your phone down! >> reporter: off-cam rat officer is heard yelling at bland to cooperate. >> put your phone down! >> reporter: she is still cursing and screaming. when he forcibly restrains her. >> you're about to break my wrist, can't you stop? you are [ bleep ] break my wrist, stop! >> reporter: a female officer was on the scene also restrains bland. >> stop resisting, ma'am. >> i make you feel real good, you're a real manno, you slammed

me, knocked my head into the ground, i got epilepsy you [ bleep ] -- >> good, good. >> yo sho thoug oreo started resistng. ito >> send me a first available for >> reporter: bland is arrested ãassaulting a public servant andto cj this incident has reignited a national controversy. >> a minor traffic infraction should not turn into death! >> reporter: tensions high after a slew of recent cases involving accusations of police using excessive force on african-americans. >> there have been enough situations that we've seen in media now that would give us pause when interacting with police officers because there is potential things that go horribly wrong, and yes, we could be killed. >> reporter: at issue was sandra bland out of line? or did the officer go too far? >> sandra bland was very combat combative combative.-pitst a model traffic stop.

and it was not a model person that was stopped on a traffic stop. cme combativ and uncoopativ force was ground which b continued t o adding, bland began swinging her elbows at me then kicked my right leg in the shin. the bland family's lawyer disputing the officer's account. >> this happened because an officer was overzealous. this happened because an officer decided that he wished to overstep his authority. >> reporter: the day after her arrest, this voice mail believed to be bland calling a friend from jail distraught. >> i'm -- i'm still just at a loss for words, honestly, about the process. how this switching lanes with no signal turned into all this, i don't even know. >> reporter: but just two days later, sandra bland is found dead. the waller county sheriff's office reporting she was found the medical examination calling

r de a suicide b hanging. attempts were made to resuscitate her, which wee >> reporter: her family doesn't buy this account, commissioning an independent autopsy. >> sandy was a social activist. social activists don't take their own life. particularly in jail. >> my goal is to racially unite. >> reporter: sand bland was a social md activist. >> black lives matter. >> reporter: regularly posting videos about and family and friends say she had just moved from texas, accepting a ew j at her alma mater, prairie view a&m university. >> what raises questions is why tis that a 28-year-old woman who had received two job offers would take her own life. >> reporter: but this video that bland posted to youtube just m ago shows a different side. >> i a suffering from something that some of you allalig now it's a little bit of depression as well as ptsd. >> we take issue with the notion

that she was suffering from she was never clinically diagnosed as this family understands. poran intake form using pills. but when asked if she was feeling suicidal today, sandra responded no, leading to new questions ab she wa closely enough. tonight, many are blaming the including her family. saying sandra bland should never have been arrested in the first place. >> she was pulled over for something so insignificant, and because of an officer who felt like maybe his ego was bruised -- >> reporter: former nypd detective nick casol said though bland was arguing with the officer, reaching into the car went too far. >> he's crossed the rubicon. now he's taken this as a personal issue. now who's going to win? this is just deteriorating. it's as we say in brooklyn, it's only going to get worser. >> this didn't need to happen.

she didn't need to get in an argument with the police officer, and the officer didn't yan her out of that car. ãa valuable lesson on t of having cameras in pce c without that camera there, i'm certain we would have heard much more conflicting stories about what happened. >> reporter: the texas rangers, along with the fbi, are investigating the circumstances leading up to sandra's death. trooper ensenia has been assigned to administrative duties for violations of department procedures regarding traffic stops. >> i don't think he's going to face any criminal charges. >sandra's life is ovr. >> she's gone from us. but the conversation should not die >> reporter: for "nightline," smtyork >> our thanks to ryan smith. of course abc news will continue to track all the developments on this story.ddy?

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organized religion may be on the decline here in america, but you're about to meet someone

who's going the extra mile to fill the pews. they call him the cowboy pastor. he delivers sermons on horseback, even rides a bull in church. so as you can imagine, his antics are stirring up controversy. abc's david wright brings us another look for our series "faith matters." >> but the bible says that we have an adversary called the devil. >> reporter: speak of the devil and his horns appear, real horns inside a real church. this is bonecrusher. that's preacher lawrence bishop preparing to dig in his spurs. a leap of faith, or folly? riding this bull for jesus. >> i don't have very many talents other than riding stuff that bucks or playing music. i've used them both to spread the gospel. and try to bring people to jesus. >> reporter: he and his wife have two sons. bishop is the pastor of solid rock church in monroe, ohio.

the one with the 52-foot statue of jesus. >> a whole barnful of bulls? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: welcoming new believers is what the pull riding thing's all about. >> a gimmick to get people through the door? >> the bible said, compel them to come in. so that's what we're doing. didn't say how to compel them. >> reporter: the battle to win souls is fiercely competitive. a recent pew survey found that 23% of the population is unaffiliated with any organized faith. ♪ jesus ♪ >> reporter: solid rock is not your typical church. >> solid rock is fun. we call our church an extreme church because we don't do anything just normal. >> reporter: that's darlene bishop, the pastor's mom. she and her husband lawrence founded solid rock 40 years ago. the bishops started off in the horse business. the lb ranch, one of the nation's foremost breeders of american quarter horses.

the church came later. she lives in the lavish ranch house she built with her husband overlooking the horse farm. >> help yourself. can i get anybody anything? >> reporter: now christians in every way. >> lord, thank you for this food, thank you for this day, help souls to be saved and keep everyone safe, especially me, in jesus' name we pray, amen. >> my husband used to say, the seven last words of a dying church is "never seen it done this way before." >> when your son said he's going to actually build the ring in the church, what'd you think? >> i thought he was crazy. >> reporter: crazy seems to be a daily occurrence here. for instance, cameras were rolling as one of the horses wound up in the swimming pool. >> come on, get me a knife! >> reporter: he was trying to walk across the cough where the cover gave way. hopelessly tangled, the horse at risk of drowning.

>> swim! >> reporter: pastor bishop appears to walk on water like the savior myself. >> you pap tised your horse. >> baptized the horse i sold to another preacher. i told him, you don't have to baptize the horse, it's already been was that tised. >> reporter: the bishop's wife selena launched her own business. light displays and crosses she welds herself. >> this family seems like it could be a good reality show. >> after the horse fell in the pool yesterday? i would have to agree with you. >> reporter: the church is not without controversy. for instance, there's a bizarre urban legend that persists in these parts that lawrence bishop senior first made his fortune smuggling cocaine in the quarter horses and that the giant jesus statue is packed with white powder. >> any truth there? >> zero. my dad, he did two things in his life.

and church. thas it. police dmenttory. rep congregation is 3,000 strong. chur'll eve see. crowd is black. everyone's welcome. the church is very outspoken on the issue of same-sex marriage. >> we love homosexuals. i had an uncle that was homosexual that died of aids. deeply loved him. homosexuality because the bible is against it. and we have to -- >> the bible is against eating shellfish. the old law. >> i don rememus bells about homosexuality. and jesus mentioned marriage in the bible. it was always a man and a woman. >> reporter: the ministry con coming up with creative ways to connect. >> the bible says he and winneth souls is wise. so these bulls are going to attract people that otherwise would never set foot in a

churchhouse. >> reporter: this isn't bishop's first rodeo. before he took over his dad's church, he was a professional but that was years ago. >> what are you most worried abouoc l my 48-year-old body is not like my 28-year-old body. >> reporter: when it comes time packed. >> ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause -- >> reporter: finally, the moment of druth.truth. pastor lawrence has got to hang on fare eight seconds. >> let's go bull ride! ♪ >> reporter: he lasts about three. everyone in the house is saying their prayers at this point. finally, battered and bruised, the cowboy preacher climbs back up to safety. want to see it again? ♪ >> reporter: and in a truly impressive example of grace under pressure, he manages to give his sermon. >> repent and be baptized!

do you want to know jesus? >> reporter: when it comes time for the altar call, the response is huge. 300 or so new believers ready to be baptized. >> vend >> surrender to jesus! >> what happened at the altar is worth it, i'll do it again. >> reporter: fraught with danger but at the solid rock church, seems to be reaping results. i'm david wright for "nightline" in monroe, ohio. up next, "general hospital's" anthony geary on his 37-year evolution as luke spencer, from dark and dangerous to dreamy. except that managing my sy all i was doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis.

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when you spend 37 years playing the same character on one of television's most beloved soap operas, stepping off the set is bound to stir up soap opera-level emotions. tonight, actor anthony geary, also known as "general hospital's" luke spencer tells aditi roy about the show that won him eight emmy awards and regions of fans. >> reporter: that's a wrap for one of soap opera's most famous leading men. after 37 years on set, actor anthony geary is leaving "general hospital." >> i'm going to have to find out where i'm going on my own. >> reporter: and leaving behind luke spencer. >> he was not created to be a heroic character. he was created to be an anti-hero. >> i killed my father! >> reporter: the brash and sassy luke -- >> good morning, beautiful! >> reporter: winning geary a record eight daytime emmy

awards. >> luke? i love you. >> reporter: perhaps most well known for being one half of the season super couple luke and laura. >> what was special about luke and laura? >> the relationship between luke and laura was always very real. >> reporter: their lavish on-screen wedding in 1981, 30 million people tuning in. the highest audience in daytime television history. but their epic romance begins in a disturbing place when a young luke sexually assaults laura. >> do you think that would fly today? >> not the way it was initially sold. i don't think so. >> why did their relationship end? >> if you look at the way it started it was fated to end badly in itself. you can't just have them go off into the sunset together. >> reporter: now just in time to see him off, jeannie francis returning to the series as laura.

>> i don't regret our life together. not for an instant. >> reporter: geary's current on-screen love interest is tracy quartermain played by jane elliot. >> i was the lucky one. >> tracy can't see her life without him, jane can't see her life without him. >> reporter: geary is looking to his next chapter, moving to amsterdam full-time. life without luke perhaps his greatest challenge yet. >> act 3, curtain up, and i'm there, center stage. >> reporter: for hello. raymond? even better. i'm robert, the brother. well, hi i'm carol marshall from humm vac cleaning systems international. oh, please, come in. thank you. ah, you must be raymond. yeah. hi. hi. i spoke to your wife last night about coming by to demonstrate our system. oh, right. yeah, oh, the vacuum i thought she said that we didn't need a new vacuum cleaner.

yeah, she did. i remember because it was right before she told me that i have to go pick up something from somewhere. oh, you didn't happen to catch any of that did you? sorry. yeah, so, when we spoke last night things did seempretty hectic, so, since i happen to be in the neighborhood, i wondered if maybe now might be a good time to come show you how wonderful the humm vac is, and to offer you this complimentary lint brush. yeah. i don't know. my wife says i'm really not supposed to -- comeme on, ray. it's complimentary. may i, robert? this won't hurt a bit. see? ew. cool. and that is yours for being such a gooood patient. thank you. you were very gentle. oh, here, i have one for you, too. oh. oh.