Last Friday, an African-American woman was returning home from a job interview in Waller County, Texas, when she was stopped by police. Apparently, she had improperly signaled a lane change. Two days later, the woman, Sandy Bland, was found dead in a jail cell. A video taken by a bystander during the arrest shows Bland shouting that the officer had slammed her head into the ground.
According to police, Sandra Bland was taken into custody and charged with “assault of a public servant.” The next morning, police say she was “found in her cell not breathing from what appears to be self-inflicted asphyxiation.” The announcement was made by Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith. Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Smith was fired from his previous post as chief of police of Hempstead, Texas, amidst accusations of racism. Bland’s friends and family contest Smith’s account, saying the thought of her committing suicide by hanging is “unfathomable.”
Sandra Bland was 28 years old. She was an outspoken member of the Black Lives Matter movement. She produced a series of videos called “Sandy Speaks” in which she discussed social justice and racism on her Facebook page.
— source democracynow.org