Attorneys ask judge to throw out Sandra Bland wrongful death suit

Sandra Bland, 28, the Chicago area woman who hanged herself in a Texas jail cell after she was arrested following a confrontation with a state trooper, was despondent over not meeting bail, a court motion says.

The family of Sandra Bland is demanding that a Waller County Jail be ordered to release all evidence pertaining to the 28-year-old’s July death.

Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, sued Encinia, the public-safety department, Waller County and the jail workers who processed Bland, Elsa Magnus and Oscar Prudente. They have filed a wrongful death suit against Waller County officials, alleging, among other things, that jail officials were reckless in how they treated her while in custody.

Bland’s ordeal ignited worldwide protests about the treatment of people of color at the hands of law enforcement, and her face has become an emblem of the Black Lives Matter movement. The county’s motion included a copy of the autopsy pronouncing her death a suicide.

Unlike the previous assessment used during intake screenings – which occur immediately after inmates arrive in jail – the new form provides jailers with specific instructions on when to contact mental health professionals or their supervisors.

Authorities found that jailers had failed to place Bland on suicide watch after she informed at least one staffer she had suffered from depression and reported that she had previously tried to commit suicide. Calls to the Bland family’s attorney were not immediately returned Thursday.

But the 39-page motion makes another, more explosive claim, as well: The blame for Bland’s suicide, it asserts, lies with her friends and family for not helping her secure the $515 dollars she needed to make bail.

The motion also says Waller County does have a suicide prevention policy and that jail employees screened Bland to see if she was suicidal.