As far as Texas law enforcement officials are concerned, 28-year-old Sandra Bland died in a jail cell Monday after hanging herself with a plastic bag.
But her family says the idea that Bland would kill herself is “unfathomable,” prompting questions about the circumstances of her death.
To those who believe her death is suspicious, Bland is the latest victim of racial bias and police brutality. To drive home the point, social media users are imagining themselves in her place and sharing directives for what to do “if I die in police custody.”
The hashtag made the jump into real life Saturday as activists interrupted a Netroots Nation town hall featuring presidential candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders. Video shows members of activist group Black Lives Matter chanting, “if I die in police custody … make sure that I’m remembered.”
The phrase started appearing in social media in reference to another recent death involving police. Anthony Ware of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, died July 11 shortly after police chased him into the woods near his home while attempting an arrest and pepper-sprayed him. Social justice activists said the case was yet another example of excessive force by police, who claim that officers responded after Ware resisted arrest.
“If I die in police custody & the police tell you that I ran through the woods & they pepper sprayed me to death, please ask every question,” activist DeRay Mckesson said in a tweet.
Bland’s death in Waller County Jail came two days later. She was arrested July 10 during a traffic stop after allegedly failing to signal a lane change, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. She was taken into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant after being “argumentative and uncooperative,” the department said.
Before her death, cell phone video purporting to show officers pinning Bland to the ground had begun circulating around social media, fueling speculation that police used excessive force.
The circumstances prompted social media users to ponder what they would want friends and loved ones to do if they died in police custody. By Friday, the flurry of tweeted thoughts had turned into a trending hashtag reflecting a distrust of law enforcement, amounting to a collective cry to press for more answers.
Others made references to media coverage of the deaths of black people in the past year, from Michael Brown to the Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre victims, in sharing their expectations for law enforcement, media and the community if they die at the hands of police.
The Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating Bland’s death, which has been the topic of intense scrutiny in the past week. Social justice groups began questioning her death as soon as the news broke, using the hashtags #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandraBland on social media.