*The death of Sandra Bland will be investigated as a murder, according to the Waller County, Texas District Attorney.
Reuters reports the revelation came during a news conference held by the DA, Elton Mathis. According to Mathis, there were “too many questions” to determine exactly how Bland died.
Three days after she was arrested on July 10 for supposedly assaulting a police officer at a traffic stop in Prairie View, Texas, authorities said the 28-year-old Illinois woman was found dead on July 13 in her jail cell. The trooper who took Bland into custody has been put on desk duty for violating protocol during Bland’s arrest, the Department of Public Safety stated. Arrest records and local media point out that Bland was accused of becoming combative and assaulting the officer.
Although the Waller County Sheriff’s Office said Bland took her own life and her hanging was ruled a suicide by the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office, Bland’s family and friends have voiced their doubts about the official version of what happened.
“This is being treated like a murder investigation,” Mathis said, adding that fringerprints would be examined by officials, who will also run DNA tests on the plastic trash bag used in Bland’s hanging.
The DA’s revelation comes after the FBI and Texas Rangers revealed last week that they were looking into Bland’s case.
“It is important that her family has confidence in the efficacy of this investigation, which is why the Waller County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney originally requested investigative assistance from the Texas Rangers; and it’s also why DPS requested the FBI assist in this investigation,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said during a press conference Tuesday (July 21).
Bland’s death has triggered an active response her family, which is demanding answers. Reuters notes how they’ve called for an independent autopsy as well as an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department to open an investigation. The family stated that Bland would not have taken her life in light of the fact that she moved from Chicago to Texas to start a new job.
Regarding Bland, the family went on to tell local media sources in Chicago that she was outspoken about the allegations of bias and excessive force by police that have filled the news via the reaction to the recent deaths of unarmed black men by white officers in New York, Missouri and South Carolina.
The Houston Chronicle notes that a better look inside Bland’s death was provided Monday with three hours of footage released by the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. The newspaper goes on to mention that a female officer is seen running for help in the footage after she apparently saw Bland hanging in her cell and references the sheriff’s account of events in saying that several officers administered CPR to try and revive Bland.
As it stands now, authorities are taking the standard route with investigations of deaths in jail, by looking into Bland’s death. The findings from the investigation will play into the decision a grand jury will ultimately deliver in the case.
For the full  dash cam video of Bland’s arrest that some, including Director Ava DuVernay, say has been edited (NSFW), watch:
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