Sandra Bland’s Death The First Of Five In July: Black Lives Matter In Disturbing New Trend
Sandra Bland’s death has become just the first of five deaths of black women while in police custody in July. While the details vary from person to person, it’s obvious that the Black Lives Matter movement has caught on to a disturbing new trend.
In previous reports by the Inquisitr, investigation has been ongoing in an effort to determine if the black women jailed had faced police brutality while in custody. All five deaths have proven a mystery, including the fact that they all happened in July following the supposed suicide of Ms. Bland.
Sandra had been pulled over for failing to use a turn signal. During the stop, Texas Trooper Brian Encinia was caught on dash cam telling her he would “light her up” if she didn’t step out of the vehicle. He claimed later that she had kicked him, though the kick was not caught on camera. She had been charged with assaulting an officer and jailed.
Three days later, Sandra Bland was found dead, hanging in her jail cell.
Kindra Chapman had allegedly stolen a cell phone from someone in the street. She had been arrested for theft and sent to jail in Alabama one day after Bland was found dead. The family had released a statement that her death was officially a suicide, even though her mother had stated the opposite previously.
Just over an hour after Chapman was booked, she was found dead in her cell.
Joyce Curnell was the oldest of the group of black women in this sad new trend. At the age of 50, she had been caught shoplifting. Having exhibited an unspecified health problem, she had been sent to a local hospital before being booked.
Similar to Sandra Bland, Curnell was found dead in her cell the day after she was jailed.
Cleveland’s Ralkina Jones was the mother of a 12-year-old daughter. Ralkina suffered from medical conditions related to a brain aneurysm and a heart murmur. She had been arrested for allegedly attacking her ex-husband’s car as it sat in a Save-a-Lot parking lot, and then allegedly attacking her husband and attempting to run him over. Like Curnell, Jones was taken to a hospital on Saturday after she was noted to be lethargic. She was returned to her cell and was reported to be fine the next day.
Seven hours later, Jones was found unresponsive.
RT @Russian_Starr: “5 Blk Wm Have Been Found Dead in Jail This Month.” My report. http://t.co/JvsYWfOIQW #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/Ja8f10yeNG
— LaurieBertramRoberts (@smartstatistic) July 31, 2015
The fifth of July’s horrific trend of black women following Sandra Bland’s death was Raynette Turner, the mother of eight children ranging from 8 to 21-years-old. New Yorker Turner was arrested for shoplifting on Saturday, and was taken to the hospital on Sunday after she complained she wasn’t feeling well. She was found dead in her cell on Monday after waiting for her arraignment.
Turner’s husband didn’t know she was dead until after he’d gone home on Monday.
It is unknown if these cases of black women being found dead in their cells are related to police brutality or if they happened to be coincidences all happening in the same month. After Sandra Bland’s death, the Black Lives Matter movement is definitely looking for answers.
[Image via NBC News, FCCB]
