'Violations' Found in Texas Arrest of Naperville Woman

The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified violations of the department’s procedures regarding traffic stops and the department’s courtesy policy in the traffic stop that resulted in the arrest and subsequent death of 28-year-old Sandra Bland, according to a release from the DPS.

Bland, a former Naperville resident, was arrested July 10 for allegedly kicking an officer after she was pulled over for an improper traffic lane change. She was found dead in her cell the morning of July 13. Her death has been ruled a suicide.

The employee involved with the arrest has been assigned administrative duties, DPS said. When the investigation is over any violations of protocol will be addressed.

The FBI has been requested to conduct a forensic analysis of the videos related to the case, the release continued. Footage will be shared with the public as soon as possible.

A video reported to have been filmed about five months ago and posted online showed Bland saying that she was suffering from depression and PTSD.

Justice of the Peace Charles Karisch pronounced Bland dead at the jail cell and noticed a mark around her neck. He thinks he may have seen a plastic bag hanging in the cell and believes that’s what Bland used to kill herself.

Each cell reportedly has a garbage can with a plastic bag in it. That practice will now be under review.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers have stepped in to investigate her death.

Bland had accepted a job at Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, where Bland had graduated in 2009.

Bland’s friend LaVaughn Mosley told KPRC Houston the idea that Bland killed herself is ridiculous.

“Anyone who knows Sandy Bland knows she has a thirst for life,” Mosley told KPRC. “She was planning for the future, and she came here to start that future, so to say she killed herself is totally absurd.”