Texas Officials: Sandra Bland Committed Suicide Because She Couldn't Meet Bail

As the lawsuit over Sandra Bland’s July death progresses, Texas defense attorneys are alleging that Bland committed suicide because of her inability to meet he $515 bail, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

In a new motion that Waller County lawyers filed last week, jail officials claim that Bland attempted to contact friends and family multiple times to post her bail. 

“It is apparent now that Bland’s inability to secure her release from jail—and her family and friends’ refusal to bail her out of jail—led her to commit suicide,” reads the filing.

Sandra Bland Attorneys Call on Jail to Release Surveillance Footage

The motion states that jail officials reportedly followed protocol by asking Bland if she was suicidal, to which she said no. Court filings continue on, saying that Bland repeatedly tried to contact a male friend for bail, but that he was supposedly ignoring her calls.

“She also made contact with at least one of her sisters, who advised she would not bail Bland out of jail,” according to court records. “Bland also made contact with a bail bondsman, who in turn made contact with Bland’s mother and possibly the relatives. However, none of her friends and family provided the approximately $515 necessary to bail her out of jail.”

Bland was found dead in her jail cell on July 13, three days after she was arrested following a routine traffic stop. A medical examiner has ruled her death a suicide, but family members and friends say that the 28-year-old was not a risk to herself. Last week, Bland family attorneys filed a motion demanding that the jail release any surveillance footage that they might be withholding. The jail has refused to turn over any additional evidence.