Sheriff says inmate told Texas jailer of prior suicide attempt

DALLAS: A woman whose death in a Texas jail has raised suspicions about the official conclusion that she hanged herself told a guard during the booking process that she had tried to kill herself in the past, according to the county sheriff.
Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said Wednesday that two jailers interviewed Sandra Bland after her arrest. He said the 28-year-old black woman from Illinois told the second interviewer that she was not depressed but was upset about her arrest, which occurred following a confrontation with a white officer who stopped her for a minor traffic violation.
The sheriff said both jailers who spoke with Bland insisted that she appeared fine when being booked on a charge of assaulting a public servant.
The attorney representing Bland’s family, Cannon Lambert, said relatives had no evidence that she ever attempted suicide or had been treated for depression.
Documents filled out for Bland indicate she had previously attempted suicide after losing a baby. But the booking papers released Wednesday also indicate Bland did not have suicidal thoughts at the time of her arrest and that neither the arresting officer nor anyone else at the jail believed she was at risk.
The documents also contain discrepancies.
One questionnaire says Bland took pills in 2015 in an attempt to kill herself after losing the baby. A separate form filled out by another jail employee says the suicide attempt occurred in 2014. One form indicates Bland had suicidal thoughts within the past year, another says that’s not the case.
Bland was arrested July 10 and was found dead three days later. A medical examiner has ruled her death suicide by hanging. Her family and friends dispute the finding. Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating. An autopsy conducted by the Harris County medical examiner has been completed and given to Waller County, where officials have not said when it will be released.
Late Wednesday, Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis told CNN that his office had received an “initial report” from the medical examiner’s office that Bland had marijuana in her system, though he said further toxicology reports are pending.