Sandra Bland Told Jailers of Previous Suicide Attempt

It occurred last year
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2015 7:08 PM CDT
Sandra Bland Told Jailers of Previous Suicide Attempt
This undated handout photo provided by the Waller County Sheriff's Office shows Sandra Bland.   (Waller County Sheriff's Office, via the AP)

When Sandra Bland was being booked into jail, she filled out a form saying she had attempted suicide with pills within the past year, the Houston Chronicle reports. For a reason, she wrote "lost baby." Bland also indicated that she was not feeling suicidal at the time of her arrest, reports the Chronicle. Still, her revelation of a recent suicide attempt should have resulted in closer supervision in the Texas jail where she was found dead in her cell of an apparent suicide, Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston tells the newspaper. While being admitted, she also checked a box saying she had experienced a recent loss, that of her godmother.

The AP reports that two people at the Waller County Jail interviewed Bland and found her to be upset, but not depressed, about her arrest. One wrote "no" to the question of whether mental illness was suspected. The development comes after Texas officials released dash-cam video showing an increasingly hostile encounter between the 28-year-old Bland and trooper Brian Encinia. Her sister, Sharon Cooper, says the video shows Bland should not have been arrested, reports CNN. "I'm infuriated and everybody else should be infuriated," she says. (More Sandra Bland stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X