Though Sandra Bland was laid to rest on July 25, the controversy surrounding her alleged suicide in Texas after a brutal interaction with police is not, according to KHOU.
Bland’s family announced during a press conference on Tuesday morning (Aug. 4) that they have opted to move forward with federal charges against Brian Encinia, the officer who pulled her over for failure to use a signal. Attorney Cannon Lambert, will represent the family in the upcoming lawsuit as her they push for a full investigation from the police department that apprehended Bland before her alleged suicide. The family holds on to the sentiments that Sandra did not kill herself, despite what medical examiners and authorities have ruled her death, and are pressing for the police to address unanswered questions.
READ: Prosecutors Release Video To Refute Claims That Sandra Bland Was Dead In Her Mugshot Photo
“The bottom line is she never should have been in that jail,” Geneva Reed-Veal, Bland’s mother said. She clutched onto a bible as she spoke during the conference, which she said was the only thing keeping her from screaming. “Justice is going to be served if the justice system does what it’s supposed to.” She added that the several written requests for those questions that the family and general public still have are being ignored. Lambert supported her claims, stating that the media has received information from their requests, but the family has not.
READ: Here’s The Full Autopsy Report For Sandra Bland’s Alleged Suicide
In addition to the questions that most believe authorities are sweeping under the rug, the autopsy results with vital information about Bland’s gastric content, time of death and other details have not been shared with any member of the family yet. The excessively edited dash cam video of Bland’s interaction with Encinia and the department’s reluctancy to provide basic details of the alleged suicide have not played favorably into the hands of the officers involved either.
“We are three weeks out from Sandra’s death,” said Bland’s sister who was also present at the conference. “We are a week out from burying her, and we still don’t know what happened to her.”