Family and friends sought more details Thursday about the death of a black woman who authorities say hanged herself in a Texas
jail after her arrest for allegedly kicking an officer following a
traffic stop, saying the 28-year-old gave no indication she was in such
an emotional state that she would kill herself.
The Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Sandra Bland of the Chicago
suburb of Naperville. She was found dead Monday morning in a Waller
County jail cell in Hempstead, Texas, about 60 miles northwest of
Houston.
"Based on the Sandy that I knew, that's unfathomable to me," Bland's
sister, Sharon Cooper, said at a news conference in Chicago.
The death of Bland, a black woman who was in the process of moving to
Texas to start working at the college from which she graduated, comes
amid increased national scrutiny of police after a series of
high-profile cases in which blacks have been killed by officers. Bland's
death has gotten attention on social media, with posts questioning the
official account of her death and featuring the hashtags
#JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland.
An attorney hired by Bland's family, Cannon Lambert, said some relatives
believe Bland was killed and the family wants more information from
investigators.
"This family is really looking to understand what happened," Lambert
said during the news conference. "We don't understand this. It doesn't
make sense."
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said he had no information indicating Bland's death wasn't a suicide.
"If I receive information that there's something nefarious going on, or
foul play, we will certainly get to the bottom of that," he told the
Chicago Tribune. "I understand there's some disbelief among some friends
and family that she would do this to herself. That's why it's very
important that the Texas Rangers be allowed to conduct a thorough
investigation."
He said such an investigation is "typical protocol" when someone dies in custody.
Lambert and Bland's sister, Shante Needham, said they'd been working to
get the money for bail when they learned that Bland was dead.
Needham said Bland had called her from jail on Saturday afternoon,
telling her that she'd been arrested, but didn't know why. She also said
an officer had placed his knee in her back and she thought her arm had
been broken.
"She was very aggravated. She seemed to be in pain. She really felt that
her arm had been fractured," Needham said, holding back tears.
"I told her I would work on getting her out."
The Harris County medical examiner has classified Bland's death as suicide by hanging.
A Texas state trooper arrested Bland on Friday in Prairie View on a
charge of assaulting a public servant. Erik Burse, a trooper and
spokesman for the Texas Department Public Safety, told the Chicago
Tribune that Bland was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change.
He said she was outside the car and about to be issued a written warning
when she kicked the officer and was then arrested.
Lambert said they didn't know if Bland had kicked the officer, but said
it would have been out of character for her to do something like that if
unprovoked.
2 comments:
#SandyBland...how did Sandy retrieve a plastice trash bag within her cell? The only bag given to a detainee is to remove their personal belongings and to be logged while in custody. Why would SandyBland need another plastice? Who gave her the plastice bag? How did SandyBland stretch a bag so and was able to hoist herself...to commit suicide? #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland. The word to the wicked...you may lie and hide but it's only a matter of time justic will be served here on planet earth and the after. If I were you its better to come clean now and shame the "DEVIL".
#SandyBland. How did Sandy obtain another plastic bag? I understand once you're in custody, you're given a plastic bag to place your personal belonging in and from there - your belonging are to be logged until one is released. So with that being said. Who gave her the trash bag and why would Sandy Bland need a trash bag in her cell? When you're being detained I'm not aware of trash cans lined with plastice bag in a cell..hum! How large was the trash bag? How was Sandy able to hoist herself to level with one end of the bag wrapped around her neck and raise herself and wrapped the lose end around a bar(s) < I'm using this word because we have not be told how Sandy Bland was hanged.> #SandyBland justice will be served. I know your spirit is caught between worlds..please make contact with your family and release the truth, so that justice can be served. #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland. I hope that the parties involve...slip and read these post "you may lie and think you just past GO". "you may hide but that's just for a moment". I say, come clean and shame the 'DEVIL' - because he ain't got your back. #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland. Remember, GOD saw just how everything went down from start to end, It not over until GOD says it over!!!
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