Hundreds of people have attended Sandra Bland’s funeral in Lisle, Illinois.
The African-American woman died in a Texas prison cell nearly two weeks ago after being taken in custody.
According to the autopsy report, Sandra Bland committed suicide by hanging herself. But her family rejected this and ordered a separate post-mortem.
Sandra Bland, 28, was found dead on July 13, three days after she was arrested.
She was taken in custody after a confrontation with the officer who had stopped her for not signaling when changing lanes.
State officials and the FBI are investigating the woman’s death.
Mourners including local politicians queued for more than an hour outside the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lisle to file past an open coffin and attend the funeral, Reuters news agency reported.
So many mourners came that an overflow crowd had to watch a live video feed in the basement, it said.
Some of those present had never met her.
Footage of the July 10 arrest, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, shows Sandra Bland’s car being pulled over for failing to signal, followed by an altercation with the lone officer.
Sandra Bland was taken into custody and charged with assaulting a police officer.
Sandra Bland’s injuries were consistent with suicide, a post-mortem examination has found.
The 28-year-old African-American woman was found dead in a Texas prison cell on July 13, three days after her arrest.
Marks on Sandra Bland’s neck suggested she killed herself, said Waller County prosecutor Warren Diepraam.
About 30 cuts on her left wrist were likely to have been self-inflicted some weeks before, he said.
However, Sandra Bland’s family say she would not have killed herself.
A video of the arrest shows a police officer pulling over Sandra Bland for not signaling when changing lanes.
After issuing a ticket, a confrontation follows when Sandra Bland refuses to stub out her cigarette or get out of the car.
As the action moved off camera, she can be heard saying the police officer slammed her head to the ground.
Prosecutor Warren Diepraam said there were only some lacerations and abrasions consistent with being handcuffed.
There were no “defensive injuries” usually found in a murder, he added.
Jail records show that Sandra Bland told a member of staff she had attempted suicide in the past.
But guards assessed her and determined she was not suicidal when she was booked into the county jail.
State officials and the FBI are investigating her death.
It also emerged that Sandra Bland left a voicemail to a friend from jail to say she was “at a loss” over her arrest.
In a voicemail obtained by ABC, Sandra Bland said she could not understand why a traffic violation had led to her detention.
In the message to a friend Sandra Bland said: “I’m still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?”
Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old African-American who died in police custody three days after being arrested, told a guard she previously attempted suicide, according to the sheriff in Texas.
A coroner’s report said Sandra Bland hanged herself but her family doubt this.
Sandra Bland was arrested on July 10 over a confrontation with a policeman who pulled her over for a traffic offence.
A video of the incident shows the officer appearing to threaten her with a Taser and say: “I will light you up.”
Both state officials and the FBI are investigating Sandra Blad’s death.
Sheriff Glenn Smith, whose Waller County jail was where Sandra Bland was held, told the AP news agency on July 22 that during the booking process she said she had tried to kill herself in the past .
He said Sandra Bland’s comments were made after she was asked a series of questions that are posed to every person who is detained at the jail in Hempstead, about 60 miles northwest of Houston.
Glenn Smith said another guard also spoke to Sandra Bland. She told him she was upset but not depressed, according to the sheriff, and both jailers insisted she appeared fine at the time.
Sandra Bland was found dead in the cell three days after her arrest and officials say she hanged herself.
Cannon Lambert, the lawyer representing Sandra Bland’s family, said relatives have “no evidence” that she previously attempted suicide and denied she was suffering from depression.
He said the family wanted investigators to get to the bottom of what happened, adding: “Sandy [Bland] was a social activist. Social activists don’t take her own life.”
Cannon Lambert also said the dash cam video of the arrest, which was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on July 22, showed that Sandra Bland’s death “could have easily been avoided”.
In the video, Brian Encinia, a white police officer, is seen issuing a ticket and then asking Sandra Bland to stub out her cigarette, which she refuses.
When the woman refuses to step out of the car, he tries unsuccessfully to pull her out. He then appears to threaten her with a Taser and says the words: “I will light you up.”
Sandra Bland gets out of the car and they move out of vision, but the audio suggests the confrontation becomes physical before more officers arrive.
A number of breaks were spotted in the original video that the DPS posted on to YouTube, prompting many people on social media to question the authenticity of the entire film.
However, a DPS spokesman insisted it had not been edited and that the glitches were a result of a technical error. The original video was later removed and another version was posted online.
Officer Brian Encinia, who has been on the force for just over a year, said he was kicked during the arrest. He has been put on administrative leave.
Texas DPS director Steven McCraw said his officers have “an obligation to exhibit professionalism and be courteous” but that “wasn’t the case in this situation”.
Sandra Bland’s death is one of several under scrutiny in the US in which a black person has died while in police custody.
Texas officials have released a video recorded by a police dash cam showing the arrest of Sandra Bland, an African-American woman who died three days later in custody.
Footage of the July 10 arrest shows Sandra Bland’s car being pulled over for failing to signal and then an ensuing confrontation with the officer.
The coroner said the woman hanged herself in her cell but her family has demanded an independent autopsy.
State officials and the FBI are both investigating her death.
In the video, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the policeman is seen issuing a ticket and then asking Sandra Bland, 28, to stub out her cigarette, which she refuses.
When the woman refuses to step out of the car, he tries unsuccessfully to pull her out. He then appears to threaten her with a Taser and says the words: “I will light you up.”
Sandra Bland gets out of the car and the two of them move out of vision, but the audio suggests the confrontation becomes physical during the arrest before more officers arrive.
The arresting officer said he was kicked. He has been put on administrative leave.
Later the video appears to have abrupt breaks in its continuity and is looped in several places, suggesting it was edited prior to release.
At 25:01 a man is seen walking away from his pick-up truck and out of shot, before reappearing at the door of the vehicle a few seconds later.
Social media users, including award-winning film director Ava DuVernay, have questioned the video’s authenticity.
On July 21, local district attorney Elton Mathis said the case – like all deaths in a jail cell – would be investigated as a murder.
The death of Sandra Bland is one of several under national scrutiny in which a black person has died while in police custody.
Other high-profile cases, since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson last summer, have sparked protests and sometimes unrest.
On July 21, prosecutors in Cincinnati, Ohio said they were probing the fatal shooting of a black motorist by a white police officer who had stopped him over a missing licence plate.
Samuel Dubose, 43, apparently refused to co-operate with Officer Ray Tensing, leading to a struggle.
He was then shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
The police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues.
Sandra Bland’s family has ordered an independent autopsy and called for an investigation by the Department of Justice.
Video footage did not show what happened inside Sandra Bland’s cell, but did suggest no-one entered or left it until someone found her unconscious.
Jail Sheriff Glen Smith said his staff checked on her less than an hour before she was found dead.
Sandra Bland’s sister, Shante Needham, said Sandra called her from jail, saying she did not know why she had been arrested and that an officer had possibly broken her arm.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
