Sunday update:
LISLE, Illinois (AP) _ Her pastor and members of the Illinois church she attended have held a prayer walk in honor of a woman who died in a southeast Texas jail last week.
Authorities say Sandra Bland hanged herself in the Waller County Jail with a plastic bag three days after being pulled over by police for a traffic violation and then arrested for allegedly kicking an officer during the stop. Friends and family have questioned that account. Bland, who was 28, had moved to Texas to start a new job.
Members of DuPage AME Church, in Lilsle, held a brief walk, prayed and sang Amazing Grace. Pastor James Miller said the gathering wasn’t a protest but a “demonstration of faith.”
Miller says Bland was an active member and had moved to Texas to pursue an opportunity. He is calling for an independent federal investigation of Bland’s death.
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CHICAGO (AP) _ An attorney says Sandra Bland’s family has ordered an independent autopsy to determine how the Chicago-area woman died in a Texas jail cell.
ABC News reported Sunday that attorney Cannon Lambert says the family expects autopsy results within 48 to 72 hours.
Bland was arrested July 10 after police said she became uncooperative during a traffic stop for failing to signal a lane change in Waller County, Texas. She was still in jail Monday awaiting posting of bond when she was found dead.
Authorities say the 28-year-old woman from Naperville, Illinois, hanged herself but her family questions that account. They say she was looking forward to a new job and would never take her own life.
She was in Texas interviewing for a job at Prairie View A&M University.
Friday afternoon statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety:
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) values and strives to demonstrate our commitment to protecting the public through our actions based on fairness, respect and courteously serving those we contact.
In the preliminary review of the traffic stop that occurred in Prairie View on July 10, 2015, involving Sandra Bland, we have identified violations of the department’s procedures regarding traffic stops and the department’s courtesy policy.
Pending the outcome of the Texas Ranger and FBI investigation into this incident, the employee involved has been assigned administrative duties. At the conclusion of this investigation, any violations of protocols will be addressed.
The District Attorney and DPS have also requested that the FBI conduct a forensic analysis of the videos related to this case. The video footage will be shared with the public as soon as possible.
Friday update:
HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — The latest on the investigation into the death of a black woman who authorities say hanged herself in a Texas jail cell (all times are local):
3 p.m.
A close friend and mentor of a woman who authorities say hanged herself in a Texas jail cell says a social media posting where she talks about being depressed is a “self-diagnosis” and should be “taken with a grain of salt.”
LaVaughn Mosley says he was “unaware of any struggles with depression” and that Sandra Bland was “making plans for the future.”
The 28-year-old Bland was from Naperville, Illinois, but was returning to her alma mater Prairie View A&M University in Texas to begin a community outreach job. She drove through the night from Chicago for a July 9 interview and dropped her bags off at Mosley’s place in Prairie View.
She got the job and returned the next day to fill out paperwork. On her way back she was stopped by police for failing to signal a lane change.
Authorities say the stop became confrontational and that Bland was arrested after kicking an officer.
She was found dead in a Waller County jail cell Monday.
1 p.m.
More than 100 protesters marched from the jail in the small Texas town of Hempstead to the courthouse following the death of a black woman who authorities say hanged herself in her jail cell.
The march led by Houston activist Quanell X covered about half a mile. Demonstrators shouted “No justice, no peace!” and “We demand answers!” Many carried signs.
Sandra Bland was arrested on July 10 in Prairie View following a traffic stop. Authorities say the 28-year-old hanged herself Monday morning in a Waller County jail cell in Hempstead, about 60 miles northwest of Houston.
Family and friends say she gave no indication she was in such an emotional state that she would kill herself.
Thursday afternoon update from the Associated Press about the death of Waller County jail inmate Sandra Bland:
HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) _ The latest on the investigation into the death of a woman who authorities say hanged herself in a Texas jail cell (all times are local):
6:30 p.m.
The district attorney for the county where a woman was found dead in a jail cell says he will present the findings of a Texas Rangers investigation into the matter to a grand jury.
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis’ announcement came at a news conference in Hempstead, Texas. He was responding to a question about the importance to the investigation of recently discovered video of Bland describing depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that she experienced.
County officials have said Bland’s death was a suicide by hanging in her Waller County Jail cell, but her family and friends have expressed skepticism at the finding.
Mathis said the importance of the video will be determined by the Waller County grand jury because he wanted “the public to have the final say on this issue.”
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6 p.m.
A district attorney says a woman who was found dead in a Texas jail used a plastic bag to hang herself from a partition in her cell.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said an autopsy found Sandra Bland died by asphyxiation. He also said that although jail video didn’t show what went on in Bland’s cell, it showed no one went in or out of it from the time she was placed there until a jailer found her unconscious.
Bland’s body was found Monday morning in a Waller County jail cell in Hempstead. She had been taken into custody after she allegedly kicked a police officer following a traffic stop.
Sheriff Glenn Smith jailers had used an intercom to check on Bland less than an hour before she was found dead.
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5 p.m.
A video posted online appears to show the arrest of a woman who was later found dead in a Texas jail. In it, an officer is seen pinning a woman to the ground with one knee.
She can be heard yelling that she can’t feel her arm or hear. She asks the officer why he slammed her head into the ground over a traffic violation.
An attorney for Sandra Bland’s family says he’s been in contact with the person who recorded or posted the video and he believes it’s authentic. The Associated Press could not independently verify it. But the images are consistent with
information the family gleaned from a jailhouse phone call they received from Bland before her death Monday.
Authorities say she hanged herself. Relatives are questioning that account.
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4:40 p.m.
Jasmyne Nicole Franklin refuses to believe that the woman she was best friends with since they met in third grade hanged herself in a Texas jail cell.
Franklin of the Chicago suburb of Streamwood says Sandra Bland was “so excited” when they spoke over the phone a few weeks ago about Bland’s new job at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She says Bland told her the job was “perfect” for her.
Bland’s body was found Monday morning in a Waller County jail cell in Hempstead. She had been taken into custody after she allegedly kicked a police officer following a traffic stop. A coroner in Texas has classified Bland’s death as suicide by hanging.
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4:15 p.m.
The Texas jail under scrutiny for the death of a woman found hanging in her cell was cited three years ago by a state agency for improperly monitoring prisoners.
The Texas Commission of Jail Standards inspected the Waller County jail after James Howell hanged himself with a bedsheet in November 2012. The commission found the jail was not checking all inmates at least once an hour, as required by law.
The Texas Rangers and FBI are investigating the death of 28-year-old Sandra Bland. Authorities say she hanged herself in her cell Monday, though her family says it’s unimaginable that she would have killed herself. She recently moved to Texas from Illinois and was due to start a new job.
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3 p.m.
A woman found dead in a Texas cell after an arrest that began with a traffic stop was outspoken about racism and police brutality.
On her Facebook page, Sandra Bland posted a series of videos of herself delivering monologues she titled “Sandy Speaks.” In the videos, Bland describes feeling called by God to speak out against racism and injustice. In a video posted earlier this year, she talks about the power of social media to bring about change.
In place of a profile picture she had posted the statement: “Now legalize being black in America.” Her family’s attorney confirmed it was her Facebook page.
Authorities say she hanged herself. She was found dead in her cell on Monday. Her family says it’s unimaginable that she would have killed herself.
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2:30 p.m.
The sister of a woman found dead in a Texas jail cell says she spoke to her by phone after the arrest, which began with a minor traffic violation.
Shante Needham says her sister, Sandra Bland, told her the arresting officer pushed his knees into her back and that she believed her arm was broken.
Needham told reporters in Chicago her sister was “very aggravated” and seemed to be in pain when she called on Saturday, a day after the arrest. Needham says she reassured her sister that she would work to get her released on bail.
Authorities say Bland kicked an officer during the arrest.
Cannon Lambert, an attorney hired by the family, says it would have been uncharacteristic of Bland to “strike out” at someone without any provocation.
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2:15 p.m.
Family members of a woman who authorities say hanged herself in a Texas county jail say she gave no indication that she was in such an emotional state that she would kill herself.
Sharon Cooper of Naperville, Illinois, said at a news conference in Chicago that it’s “unfathomable” that her sister, Sandra Bland, would have killed herself.
The Texas Rangers are investigating the circumstances of her death. Bland was found dead Monday in a Waller County jail cell in Hempstead, about 60 miles northwest of Houston.
She had been pulled over Friday for failing to signal a lane change and was arrested on a charge of assaulting a public servant.
Statement issued Thursday afternoon from the Texas Department of Public Safety about the death of Waller County jail inmate Sandra Bland:
On Friday, July 10, at approximately 4:30 p.m. on FM 1098 in Prairie View, a DPS trooper made a traffic stop on a Hyundai Azera for failure to signal a lane change. After making contact with the driver, Sandra Bland (DOB 02-07-1987), she became argumentative and uncooperative. She was subsequently taken into custody for assault on a public servant. A Prairie View police officer also responded to the scene and provided assistance. Waller County EMS was also called to the scene, but Bland refused a medical review by EMS. She was then booked into the Waller County Jail.
The Waller County Sheriff’s Office requested that DPS assist in investigating the in-custody death of Bland at the Waller County Jail on Monday morning. A Texas Ranger responded to the scene that day. DPS has also requested that the FBI assist in this investigation, to which they have agreed.
At this time, the joint investigation by the Texas Rangers and the FBI is ongoing.
Additionally DPS will conduct an internal review of the traffic stop.
No additional information is available at this time.
Original story:
CHICAGO (AP) _ The Texas Rangers are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death in a Texas county jail cell of a 28-year-old woman with ties to the Chicago area.
Sandra Bland was found dead Monday morning in a jail cell in Waller County, about 60 miles from Houston. Texas authorities who performed an autopsy on Tuesday classified her death as suicide by hanging, according to the Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/1MuOHXf ). She had been arrested Friday in the county on a charge of assaulting a public servant.
Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said Bland had traveled from Illinois to start a new job in Texas.
Mathis said the Texas Rangers would conduct a thorough investigation.
“I understand there’s some disbelief among some friends and family that she would do this to herself,” Mathis said.