The family of Sandra Bland is filing a federal lawsuit against the state trooper who arrested her as well as other authorities, NBC reports. Police say that Bland committed suicide three days after being arrested after being stopped for failing to signal a lane change. Bland’s family does not believe the suicide claim and said that authorities have been withholding information from them.
“The bottom line is: She never should have been inside of the jail, period,” said Bland’s mother Geneva Reed-Veal.
The lawsuit holds the Department of Public Safety responsible for Bland’s death and claims that the state trooper acted recklessly in arresting her while other officers showed a “conscious disregard for her safety.” The family also wants the Department of Justice to investigate her death as well.
They are seeking unspecified damages.