Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Waller county, Texas on Monday of an apparent suicide. She allegedly hung herself with the plastic bag that is routinely given to prisoners for cleanup.
However, there has been mass speculation that foul play could have taken the life of Sandra Bland.
While prison authorities say that cameras located outside of her cell show no one entering or leaving, Sandra Bland’s family and friends say that there’s no way she would have been suicidal at this time in her life.
Sandra Bland was looking forward to starting a new job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University in Texas, which was the historically black college from which she graduated in 2009.
#SandraBland: Video shows arrest of young black woman found dead in police cell three days later http://t.co/pIcn52BoPD #SandyBland
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) July 16, 2015
Now, demonstrators are marching outside of the jail where Sandra Bland was found dead, and they want answers. Many suspect police officers of brutality or murder.
One protester said, “It’s like, questionable, because of the traffic stop, all of this happened, really? It just brings so many questions.”
“Based on the Sandy I knew, this is unfathomable to me,” Sharon Cooper, one of Bland’s sisters, told reporters in Chicago. “People who knew her, truly knew her, the depth of her, that’s unfathomable right now.”
#SandyBland "Suicide by racist Texas cop"
— Lalo Alcaraz (@laloalcaraz) July 18, 2015
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis told reporters Friday, “The death of Sandra Bland will not be swept under the rug. There will be no one who is protected… The truth will come out.”
The fact is, in an internal investigation, officials did, indeed, find violations in the way Sandra Bland’s arrest was handled.
The officer that was recorded restraining Sandra Bland has been placed on “administrative duties” while the investigation continues.
How does a traffic stop lead to death? We deserve answers #SandyBland #JusticeForSandy http://t.co/R70QOdNLxC pic.twitter.com/jDMpiXtsjF
— Funded Justice (@FundedJustice) July 17, 2015
The police department admitted, “We have identified violations of the department’s procedures regarding traffic stops and the department’s courtesy policy.”
Sandra Bland’s death is just the latest in a number of high profile instances where law enforcement has been accused of brutality and even murder of African-American citizens.
What do you think happened to Sandra Bland?