U.S. District Judge David Hittner set a 2017 trial date for a wrongful death lawsuit set by the family of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Chicago-area woman who died while in police custody. While a medical examiner ruled Bland's death as a suicide, her family is disputing the claims and they are seeking unspecified damages from Texas Department of Public Safety, the officer who arrested her, Waller County, and two jailers.
Cannon Lambert, the Bland family's lead attorney, spoke out on the case, saying that they haven't had a chance to examine fingerprints on the plastic bag the medical examiner claims the woman hanged herself with in her cell.
Bland's story went viral amid scrutiny of officers using excessive force during arrests and dealing with black suspects, including Freddie Gray, who mysteriously died of a severe spinal cord injury and broken neck after his arrest. Dashcam video of Bland's interaction with trooper Brian Encinia shows the 28-year-old woman claiming Encina slammed her head in the ground. Three days after her arrest, Sandra Bland was found dead in her cell.
Source: Huffington Post
