LISLE, Ill. -- What happened to Sandra Bland? That's a question being asked nationwide and at DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church, where the 28-year-old's faith community remembered her Sunday morning.
Texas prosecutors have called for a grand jury review of findings from an investigation into the Bland’s death. Her family questioned the claim that she committed suicide while in Waller County Jail. Many at the Lisle, Ill., church Sunday signed a petition to pursue the case differently.
Bland was preparing to start a new job, family members say, at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas.
Last week, a state trooper stopped Bland for failing to signal a lane change. According to the department of public safety, Bland was about to be let off with a warning when she kicked the trooper.
Authorities say she hanged herself in jail.
Despite Bland's history of depression, friends say she would never kill herself; she was just finding a voice in civil rights. Waller County Jail was cited three years ago for improperly monitoring cells. That citation followed an inmate hanging himself with a bed sheet in 2012.
Bland's death at the jail comes amid increased national scrutiny of police after a series of high-profile cases in which blacks have been killed by officers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
FishMan
Sat in Jail for 3 days. Her Own Family did not want to Help her. No Bail from her Family. Now they are Concerned.