Twitter responds to jail deaths with ‘if I die in police custody’

As far as Texas law enforcement officials are concerned, 28-year-old Sandra Bland died in a jail cell July 13 after hanging herself with a plastic bag.

But her family says the idea that Bland would kill herself is “unfathomable,” prompting questions about the circumstances.

To those who believe her death is suspicious, Bland is one of the latest victims of racial bias and police brutality. But she was not the only black woman to die in custody last week.

The day after Bland’s death, authorities in Alabama said, 18-year-old Kindra Chapman died after hanging herself in the Homewood City Jail. She had been arrested on a charge of first-degree robbery, accused of robbing a person of a cell phone, al.com reported.

The close timing of the two deaths under similar circumstances struck a chord with some social media users, who took to Twitter to share directives for what to do “if I die in police custody.”

The hashtag made the jump into real life Saturday as activists interrupted a Netroots Nation town hall meeting featuring presidential candidates Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders. Video shows members of the activist group Black Lives Matter chanting, “if I die in police custody … make sure that I’m remembered.”

The phrase started appearing in social media last week in reference to another recent death involving police. Anthony Ware of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, died July 11 shortly after police chased him into the woods near his home while attempting an arrest and pepper-sprayed him. Social justice activists said the case was yet another example of excessive force. Tuscaloosa police say the officers responded after Ware resisted arrest.

“If I die in police custody & the police tell you that I ran through the woods & they pepper sprayed me to death, please ask every question,” activist DeRay Mckesson said in a tweet.

The mother of Sandra Bland, Geneva Reed-Veal, center, and sister Shavon Bland mourn at the gravesite during the funeral at Mount Glenwood Memory Gardens West cemetery, on Saturday, July 25, in Willow Springs, Illinois. Bland was arrested on July 10 for allegedly assaulting an officer during a routine traffic stop. On July 13, she was found dead in her jail cell. Police say the 28-year-old hanged herself with a plastic bag. Her family disputes that.

Hundreds of people attended Sandra Bland's funeral near the Chicago suburb where she grew up.

Shavon Bland, the sister of Sandra Bland, holds a flower over her gravesite on July 25.

Sandra Bland's sister, Sharon Cooper, kneels at Bland's burial site on July 25.

Jeanette Williams places a bouquet of roses at a memorial for Sandra Bland near Bland's alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, in Prairie View, Texas, on Tuesday, July 21.

Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland's mother, hugs family members at a memorial service for her daughter July 21 in Prairie View.

Angel Duncan cries Sunday, July 19, while speaking at a vigil at Bland's alma mater.

Lanitra Dean hugs Bland's friend Carlesha Harrison during the Prairie View vigil on July 19. Bland had been arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which said she became "argumentative and uncooperative" during a traffic stop.

The Revs. James Miller and Lana Parks Miller lead a prayer walk remembering Bland in Lisle, Illinois, on July 19. Bland lived in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois. Her family questions that she would commit suicide. Sharon Cooper, one of Bland's sisters, said the idea of her sister committing suicide is "unfathomable" to her.

Quanell X, leader of the New Black Panther Party, holds a plastic bag while speaking at a rally at the Waller County Courthouse in Hempstead, Texas, on Friday, July 17. Authorities said there were no cameras in Bland's jail cell to show that she hanged herself, but cameras in the hallway show no one entering or leaving the cell before her body was discovered.

From left, Hempstead Mayor Michael Wolfe, Prairie View Mayor Frank Jackson and Texas state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst listen as Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis, right, speaks to the media in Hempstead on July 17. "The death of Sandra Bland will not be swept under the rug," Mathis said. The Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating her death.

Remembering Sandra Bland

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Bland’s death in Waller County Jail came two days later. She was arrested July 10 during a traffic stop after allegedly failing to signal a lane change, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. She was taken into custody on a charge of assaulting a public servant after being “argumentative and uncooperative,” the department said.

Before her death, cell phone video purporting to show officers pinning Bland to the ground had begun circulating on social media, fueling speculation that police used excessive force.

Then came Chapman’s death. The confluence of events prompted social media users to ponder what they would want friends and loved ones to do if they died in police custody. By Friday, the flurry of tweeted thoughts had turned into a trending hashtag reflecting a distrust of law enforcement and media.

Others made references to media coverage of the deaths of black people over the past year, from Michael Brown to the Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre victims, in sharing their expectations for law enforcement, media and the community if they die while in custody.

The Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating Bland’s death. The Tuscaloosa Police Department is reviewing Ware’s death and has asked the FBI to conduct an independent investigation. Chapman’s death also is under investigation.