Sandra Bland’s alleged suicide is now being pointed to her inability to make bail, according to an appeal on behalf of the Waller County Sheriff’s Office. Attorney is looking for an appeal in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against the county and two of its jailers. A new motion calls Bland “despondent” after family and friends did not paying her $515 bond immediately, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Ultimately, Bland’s decision to commit suicide was hers alone, after she denied any suicidal intentions to jail personnel, and after her friends and family refused to bail her out of jail,” Simmons said. “It is apparent now that Bland’s inability to secure her release from jail — and her family and friends’ refusal to bail her out of jail — led her to commit suicide.”
Bland was found dead in the Waller County Jail on July 13, just three days after being arrested for a traffic stop. After what should have been a routine stop turned into a violent takedown by state trooper Brian Encinia, Bland was arrested for suspicion of assault on the officer. Her death has been ruled a suicide by officials, while the masses expressed concern for foul play in her death. In response to the latest claims regarding her bail, Bland’s mother’s lawyer Larry Rogers Jr. called the claims “completely unnecessary and inaccurate.”
“That’s a gratuitous insult, pouring salt into the wound of an already devastated family,” he said.
The motion also claims that Bland placed a phone call to a friend who did not answer, and that Bland’s sister “advised she would not bail Bland out of jail.” The family denies that they abandoned Bland, noting that they were not in the vicinity and need to plan for a way to help her. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, another attorney for Bland’s family notes that Simmons has presented information that he did not confirm by speaking to the family.
“They’re making allegations about what my clients know or what my clients did, without even having spoken to them, and I’m curious about how it is they can come to the conclusion that [Bland’s male friend] was ignoring phone calls,” Cannon Lambert said. “They’ve certainly not given us any statements in discovery that reflects that that’s the case.”