The funeral for Sandra Bland,
the woman who died in police custody two weeks ago, sparking
speculation about police involvement in her death, will be held Saturday
morning in Lisle, Ill.
About 1,000 mourners, friends and family members of Bland,
the 28-year-old Chicago-area native, will gather for a wake at 9 a.m.,
ABC 7 reports. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m. The private services
will be held at DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Her funeral comes during a storm of allegations that the Waller County jail in Texas where she was held did not follow procedure, stripping Bland of due process.
Friends and family who will gather this morning to pay their
respects to Bland still have so many questions about what began as a
traffic stop in Texas. Bland was in the state for a new job at her alma
mater when she was pulled over for failure to signal a lane change. The
traffic stop escalated into a heated exchange and arrest, after which
Bland spent three days in jail.
In a statement Thursday, Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith defended
the intake procedure, addressing some of the public’s most serious
concerns. While Smith admitted, based on jail staff’s observations, that
Bland was not placed on suicide watch, it’s unclear how or why they
ignored her original admission.
Bland reportedly told jail staffers that she at one point in her life attempted suicide.
Despite initial autopsy reports
confirming Bland died of suicide by hanging, her family has ordered a
second autopsy, saying they have not received the information requested
from the jail about Bland’s death.
The Justice Department and the FBI have been asked to investigate the incident.
SOURCE: ABC 7 | VIDEO SOURCE: NDN
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