FBI Investigating Texas Jail Death of Black Lives Matters Activist Sandra Bland

By Alice Barr, USA Today

18 July 15

 

ALSO SEE: Outrage Grows After Mysterious Death of #BlackLivesMatter Activist in Texas Jail

exas — A trooper who pulled over and later arrested a woman found dead in her jail cell was put on desk duty Friday for violating procedures, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Sandra Bland, 28, was arrested July 10, and after spending the weekend in the Waller County jail, she was found hanged in her cell Monday. Harris County's medical examiner said the death was a suicide, but Bland's family disputes the finding.

The FBI has joined the Texas Rangers in investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. The state Public Safety Department and Waller County district attorney have requested that the FBI conduct a forensic analysis on video footage from the incident.

In arresting Bland, the trooper "violated the department's procedures regarding traffic stops and the department's courtesy policy," state public safety officials said Friday without specifying what procedures the trooper, whose name has not been released, had violated.

Bland had been pulled over in Prairie View, Texas, and previously state public safety officials had said she became argumentative and uncooperative so she was arrested on a charge of assaulting a public servant.

"She had become combative on the side of the road," Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said.

When Bland was found in her jail cell three days later, she was "not breathing from what appears to be self-inflicted asphyxiation" and CPR was immediately performed, Smith said. She was pronounced dead shortly after.

Video shows Bland was alone in her cell before she died, he said.

But Elton Mathis, Waller County district attorney, said Friday that no cameras were in the jail cell where she was found dead. Cameras monitoring the hall outside her cell show no one entered or left it between the time she last spoke with deputies through an intercom system and when her body was discovered

"It appears she had used a trash bag to hang herself from a partition in the ceiling, which was used to give inmates privacy," said Mathis, who also said Bland seems to have been the only female incarcerated in the jail at the time.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards cited Waller County jail Thursday for not properly monitoring inmates but wouldn't say whether its citation is related to Bland's death. All inmates must be observed once every 60 minutes, and any inmate deemed suicidal must be observed in person every 30 minutes, Executive Director Brandon Wood said.

Smith said Thursday that jailers used an intercom to check on Bland less than an hour before she was found dead.

On Friday, more than 100 demonstrators demanded answers and justice during a rally at the jail. Protesters from throughout Texas joined Bland's relatives from Chicago as they marched from the jail to the courthouse.

Family members and friends have said Bland would never hurt herself. She was excited about starting a new job and new life in Texas.

She was a graduate of Prairie View A&M in Waller County and recently had accepted a job with the college.

"I talked to her Friday (a week ago) and she was in good spirits," LaVaughn Mosely said. "Although she was incarcerated, she was in good spirits. She was looking forward to posting bond Saturday and getting out. So you don't go from that to hanging yourself."

Mosely said she called him from jail Friday night and told him her version of what happened.

"She was smoking when he pulled her over," Mosely said. "Told her to put her cigarette out. She had an exchange of words, and it just went downhill. She said he snatched her out of the window and slammed her on her face."

Since Bland's death, alleged video of her arrest has been posted to both Facebook and YouTube. The video shows deputies cuffing Bland on the ground. She appears to be yelling, saying the deputies slammed her head into the ground. One of the deputies then turns his attention to the person recording the altercation, telling the person to leave.

From the barber shop across the street, Renee McKnight had a front row seat to Bland's arrest.

"She was telling him to get his so and so hands off of her and jerking away from him," McKnight said.

McKnight said she then saw Bland end up on the ground.

"I couldn't tell if he slammed her down there or it was a maneuver she did trying to stop him from putting her in the car caused her to be put on the ground," McKnight said. "She was very, very upset. She wasn't trying to get in that police car."

Bland was from the Chicago area, and her family there is now closely watching the investigation. They have hired a lawyer and hope Monday to meet the Texas Rangers leading the investigation. A prayer vigil has been planned for Sunday.

Mathis said a video surfaced of Bland in March, in which she speaks about depression and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Mosley still is uncertain.

"I can't understand how somebody from a routine traffic stop can end up in jail and dead three days later," he said.

Mathis said the Texas Rangers will conduct a thorough investigation.

"I understand there's some disbelief among some friends and family that she would do this to herself," Mathis said.