‘She is gone but not forgotten’: Social media honors Sandra Bland on fifth anniversary of death

The recent deaths of Black people either in police custody or due to police officers have led to international outcry. The deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor evoke memories of the mysterious death of a 28-year-old Black woman who died in a Texas jail five years ago Monday.

Sandra Bland, who died on July 13, 2015, was one of many who sparked the early Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to find justice in cases of Black people killed or who died in police custody. Bland was found dead on that day in a Waller County Jail. She was held there after being charged with assaulting an officer. Her death was ruled a suicide, but her family and dozens of advocates have since said they do not believe she committed suicide.

Her death prompted the now ubiquitous mantra “say her name,” which calls for Black victims to be recognized and publicized in order for justice to prevail in their deaths. That phrase has also been circulating on social media as a result of Taylor’s death. The Kentucky 27-year-old was shot when Louisville police officers arrived to her home while issuing a no-knock warrant. No one has been charged in her death.

What happened with Sandra Bland?

Bland had driven from Illinois to Texas for a new job. Just three days before her death, she was stopped by a trooper for a minor traffic violation, failing to signal a lane change. When Trooper Brian Encinia stopped her for the violation, a heated confrontation ensued with Encinia asking Bland to put out her cigarette, according to dashcam video. Bland refused and asked why she could not smoke in her own car.

From there, Encinia ordered Bland out of the car. She again refused the order, and the trooper threatened to “light her up” with his stun gun. He removed her from the car, and he threw her to the ground. Bland kicked the trooper, which led to her arrest for assaulting an officer.

She was booked at Waller County Jail. On the day of her death, jail officials say she refused her morning meal at about 6:30. Shortly after 9 a.m., Bland was found hanging in her jail cell.

The Bland family said she was in good spirits about her job opportunity despite being arrested. They do not believe she would have committed suicide.

Encinia was later suspended for not following agency rules, but he never faced charges. A video was released last year that showed Bland filmed the arrest herself. That new evidence, the Bland family’s lawyer argued is proof that Encinia did not fear for his life as he claimed in a police report.

"What the video shows is that Encinia had no reason to be in fear of his safety," Cannon Lambert, who represented the family in a $1.9 million legal settlement, said in a telephone interview. "The video shows that he wasn't in fear of his safety. You could see that it was a cellphone, he was looking right at it."

To many, her death is still suspicious, and several advocates, state legislators and others have called for a new investigation into her death.

On Monday, Twitter got Bland’s name to trend in thousands of tributes and calls for justice for the Chicago-area native, who would have been 33.