Politics

Sandra Bland Death May Lead to Disciplinary Action, Sheriff Says

Published

10 years ago

July 25, 2015

Sheriff R. Glenn Smith of Waller County during a news conference on Tuesday in Prairie View, Tex. Credit Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

Sheriff R. Glenn Smith of Waller County during a news conference on Tuesday in Prairie View, Tex. (Pat Sullivan/Associated Press)

David Montgomery, THE NEW YORK TIMES

HEMPSTEAD, Tex. (The New York Times) — The Texas sheriff whose policies have come under intense criticism in the aftermath of the jail-cell hanging death of Sandra Bland says he is seriously considering disciplinary action against jail staff members for not fulfilling state requirements for mental health training.

In a nearly 45-minute interview in his office on Friday, Sheriff R. Glenn Smith of Waller County said he was continuing to review the chain of events that ended with the discovery of Ms. Bland’s body in her jail cell on July 13. Looking back, Sheriff Smith said, he regrets that Ms. Bland — who officials say told them after she arrived at the jail that she had once tried to kill herself — was not placed on a suicide watch.

“It’s very obvious to me now, with what happened,” he said, adding, “I absolutely wish” she had been watched.

Ms. Bland, 28, was booked into the county jail on July 10 after being arrested in a confrontational traffic stop by a state trooper who said she had changed lanes without signaling. Three days later she was found dead in her cell, hanging from a stanchion, a plastic bag taken from a 32-gallon trash container around her neck. Sheriff Smith said the plastic trash liners were recommended by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, but he called their use a mistake in light of what happened. All plastic liners have now been removed.

###

Reporter II

Posts by Reporter II

Up Next

In a Change from 2008, Clinton Talking Often about Race

Don't Miss

Obama Admits US Gun Laws Are His ‘Biggest Frustration’

Reporter II

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

4 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.