Justice for Sandra Bland
The family of a Sandra Bland, the Chicago-area woman who was found dead in a Texas jail cell last week, is ordering an independent autopsy.
The family's lawyer says Bland was found dead in her cell at the Waller County Jail in Houston, Texas, just days after she was arrested and detained by police during a routine traffic stop for assaulting an officer.
The facts surrounding the case have lead many to believe that there was some form of foul play involved. One major red flag is the victim's cause of death. The detaining authorities claim that Bland hung herself in her jail cell with a plastic bag three days after being arrested.
“Based on the Sandy that I knew, that’s unfathomable to me,” Bland’s sister, Sharon Cooper, said at a press conference in Chicago on Thursday.
Lanitra Dean, cries as she speaks about her friend Sandra Bland, at the Waller County Courthouse in Hempstead, Texas, Friday July 17, 2015, during a rally to protest the death of Bland, who was found dead in the jail. Via Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman
Another sister, Shante Needham, said Bland called her from jail on Saturday afternoon, to say she had 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,” Needham said. “She seemed to be in pain. She really felt that her arm had been fractured. I told her I would work on getting her out.”
The Facts. Bland was arrested July 10 during a traffic stop after allegedly failing to signal a lane change, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. She was taken into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant after being "argumentative and uncooperative," the department said. (The Guardian)
Before her death, cell phone video showing officers pinning Bland to the ground had begun circulating on social media, fueling speculation that police used excessive force.
To those who believe her death is suspicious, Bland is one of the latest victims of racial bias and police brutality.There has been a recent surge in crime against African Americans at the hands of white Americans, particularly those that wear badges.
Social Media Responds to Sandra Bland's Death
Fueling The Fire.“This is the most racist county in the state of Texas which is probably one of the most racist states in the country,” said DeWayne Charleston, a former Waller County judge who in 2007 ordered a black funeral home to handle the burial of an unidentified white woman, sparking controversy when activists claimed that other officials intervened to stop a white person being buried next to black corpses.
As to What I Think? #JusticeforSandraBland