As the FBI and Texas Rangers look into the cause of death of Sandra Bland last week, purported by Waller County Jail to be a suicide by hanging, Twitter users have turned her cause into a new, depressing rally cry. The hashtag #IfIDieInPoliceCustody has been trending all weekend, as Black people use it to express their fear that they could be the victims of police brutality while in custody. This also follows the Baltimore death of Freddie Gray, for which the six officers involved in his arrest are under indictment.
These tweets look like 140 character last will and testaments to readers. They're also giving voice to Bland, who can no longer speak for herself. The 28-year-old had been arrested on July 10 after a traffic stop, during which police said she kicked an officer.
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#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 tell them I sagged my pants, smoked weed, and wore hoodies. Ask them if those things warranted my execution.
— Captain Africa (@See_Say_92) July 16, 2015#ifidieinpolicecustody look under my fingernails. The skin of the person who killed me will be there...
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) July 18, 2015Bland's friends and family have said that Bland was not suicidal, and was actively trying to arrange for her release on $5,000 bail. While a prosecutor pointed to a video she posted on Facebook revealing she suffered from depression, her family's lawyer says a the video is not proof of her mental state at the time of her death.
#IfIDieInPoliceCustody remind my children that what they know about me is real, what they will hear about me in the news is not.
— Ijeoma Oluo (@IjeomaOluo) July 17, 2015As one Twitter user points out, some #IfIDieInPoliceCustody tweets could come across as shaming those who do suffer from depression and suicidal feelings.
Don't use the #IfIDieInPoliceCustody hashtag to shame those who have ever thought of and/or committed suicide. You have no idea.
— WildHeart. (@thevariorum) July 19, 2015But what's important about these statements is the fear of police violence has become (or has always been) so prevalent among people of color in this country.
I know there will be a thorough investigation. Because I'm white.
#IfIDieinPoliceCustody
— David R. Forman (@David_R_Forman) July 19, 2015