Funeral held for black woman died in US prison cell
Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of an African American woman found dead in prison days after she was violently arrested for a minor traffic offense, in what activists call another example of US police brutality toward blacks.
Mourners lined up on Saturday for more than an hour outside the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lisle, Illinois outside of Chicago to honor 28-year-old Sandra Bland who died earlier this month in a Texas cell.
"This is not a moment of defeat, this is an hour of victory ... We are celebrating a hero," said Reverend James Miller, who led the funeral service.
Miller asked everyone to pressure the US government for a federal investigation into Bland's death.
At the funeral, her mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said she had recently taken a trip with her daughter, who had decided her purpose in life was to stop all injustices against African Americans.
Bland, originally from the Chicago area, was found hanged in her prison cell three days after her July 10 arrest.
A preliminarily autopsy has confirmed an initial finding by a medical examiner that Bland's death was a suicide.
Her family, however, has expressed strong doubts that Bland would take her own life. They say she was passionate about civil rights and excited about a new job at a college near Houston, Texas.
Suspicions have been raised over the death of the young activist, who was a vocal critic of police brutality and racial injustice. The case is being investigated by the FBI and Texas Rangers, a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction.
A police dashboard video released last week shows how a routine traffic stop escalated into a verbal and physical confrontation between Bland and Texas State Trooper Brian Encinia.
The video shows the officer threatening Bland with a taser before arresting her. “I will light you up,” the trooper said, pointing the stun gun at her.
Civil rights activists have raised questions about the role race may have played in her arrest and death in a county with a long history of racial tensions.
Her death was the latest in a series of deadly encounters between unarmed African-Americans and white police officers that have sparked protests in many cities.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday to campaign against police brutality and racial injustice.
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