Sandra Bland's Death in Jail Investigated as #IfIDieInPoliceCustody Trends

Texas Rangers are investigating the death of Sandra Bland, who died in the Waller County jail on July 13 in what was originally called a suicide. Friends and family question that claim and amid public outcry, a full investigation has been launched with FBI supervision. Meanwhile, as Sandra Bland's death in jail is investigated, #IfIDieInPoliceCustody is trending regularly on Twitter with people stating for the record that their deaths should never be seen as suicides.

Bland, who was African American, was pulled over for a traffic violation on July 10. The encounter allegedly became confrontational and Bland was taken into police custody for assault on a public servant. Dashboard camera video of the arrest is expected to be released sometime on Tuesday but another video from a bystander apparently shows a part of the arrest, with a woman held down by a police officer.

"You just slammed my head into the ground, do you not even care about that?" the woman says in the video.

A video was released from the jail showing the hallway to her cell on the morning of her death. There is apparently no movement in the area for about 90 minutes until guards and a nurse rush to Bland's cell.

Bland, who grew up in Illinois, was in Texas to start a new job at Prairie View A&M University, a historically black college that she had once attended. Friends and family said that she was excited to start her new job and in high spirits, despite a video she had posted months earlier on Facebook saying that she suffered from depression and PTSD.

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis held a press conference on Monday where he said the investigation is ongoing and considering many different factors.  "This investigation is still being treated just as it would be in a murder investigation," Mathis said. "There are many questions being raised in Waller County, across the country and the world about this case."

Meanwhile, Bland's death has been widely discussed on social media across the nation. Last week, #IfIDieInPoliceCustody began trending, with people writing that if that happened, people should know that it was not a suicide.

There is suspicion by many in the public that Bland's death was not a suicide, especially as this past year has seen a number of high profile cases of black men and women killed by police. Her family has requested an independent autopsy and a petition has been made to request the Department of Justice to look into the case.

#IfIDieInPoliceCustody ask every question, and know that I did not end my own life. And protest in the spirit of the founding fathers.

— deray mckesson (@deray) July 17, 2015

#IfIDieInPoliceCustody know that they killed me. I would do everything in my power to get home to my family. So never stop questioning. — April (@ReignOfApril) July 17, 2015

#IfIDieInPoliceCustody don't trust any report of me being aggressive, I put my humanity aside in interactions w/ cops to come home to my kid — jamilah (@JamilahLemieux) July 17, 2015

#IfIDieInPoliceCustody question everything. Don't believe a word they say. Demand the truth by any means necessary. — ShordeeDooWhop (@Nettaaaaaaaa) July 17, 2015

#IfIDieInPoliceCustody Know that the color of my skin was the only crime committed.

— Kiaira (@BlvckConscious) July 17, 2015