Recent Deaths of 3 Black Women In Police Custody Raise Concern

Compiled from press reports

The alleged suicide of Sandra Bland in a Texas jail on July 10 is not the only recent incident of its type.

On Sunday, July 26, 37-year old Ralkina Jones became another statistic when she was found dead in her jail cell.

She had been arrested Friday night on domestic violence and assault charges, according to a Cleveland Heights police department news release.

 Jones was sent to a “HealthSpan” facility near the jail on Saturday when she appeared lethargic, but was  evaluated by medical personnel and re-released to the Cleveland Heights jail later that night.

She was found unresponsive in her cell Sunday morning, around 7:30 in the morning. An autopsy revealed no suspicious injuries. The exact cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner pending further studies.

 Sandra Bland Laid To Rest

 Fifteen days after she allegedly hung herself in a Texas jail, Sandra Bland was laid to rest in Lisle, Illinois.

She had been arrested  in Texas, and later died in a jail cell.      

Bland was arrested on July 10 after failing to use a turn signal and becoming combative with a state trooper, Waller County, Texas, authorities said. The 28-year-old woman was  about to start a new job at Prairie Valley A&M University in Texas.

The case will go to a grand jury next month.

Three days after she was arrested, Bland was found dead, hanging from a noose made from a plastic bag in her Texas jail cell.

At the service, on July 25, many wore blue T-shirts with #SandySpeaks emblazoned on the front.

Police rule teen’s death in Alabama a suicide

The death of 18-year-old Kindra Chapman in Jefferson County Alabama  while she was locked up in jail has officially been ruled a suicide, authorities announced on July 27. 

The Jefferson County Alabama Coroner’s Office said Chapman died from “asphyxia by hanging,’’ said Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates. “The manner of death is suicide.”

On July 14, Chapman was booked into the Homewood City Jail at 6:22 p.m.  on a first-degree  charge of  robbing another person of a cell phone. Jailers last saw her alive at 6:30 p.m. She was found unresponsive at 7:50 p.m. Authorities said she used a bed sheet to hang herself.

Lawyers for Chapman’s mother released this statement on July 23: “We are so grateful for the outpouring of support for Kindra. We are devastated that she is gone, and we miss her terribly,’’ according to the Birmingham law firm of Marsh, Rickard and Bryan. “We want the world to know what a wonderful soul she was. At the same time, we want the world to know that her death was a suicide. We have hired lawyers to investigate how this could have happened while she was in police custody.”