#SayHerName: Saniyah Cheatham’s Family Hires Attorney Ben Crump To Investigate Teen’s Death In NYPD Custody
Earlier this month, an 18-year-old Black woman was arrested in the Bronx. Hours later, authorities found her unconscious in her holding cell, and she ultimately died. According to a medical examiner, the teen died by suicide after hanging herself with her sweater, but her family isn’t buying it, and they’ve hired famed civil attorney Ben Crump to see them through their pursuit of transparency and justice.
According to Gothamist, Bronx native Saniyah Cheatham was pronounced dead on July 5, after she was taken to Lincoln Hospital from the New York Police Department’s 41st Precinct stationhouse in Longwood, where multiple officers performed CPR on her while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. It’s unclear what the circumstances were surrounding Cheatham’s arrest, but the New York Times reported last week that she was booked on an assault charge.
On Monday, the Cheatham’s family, joined by Crump, held a press conference outside the stationhouse, where they accused authorities of being less than forthcoming with information on Cheatham’s death outside of the ruling that she killed herself. Crump said during the conference that he planned on “exploring every possible legal remedy to get to the truth.”
“It is a hypocritical dynamic where you have the video, you know what happened, but you’re gonna make this family have to go through all kinds of hoops and hurdles to find out what happened to their daughter,” he said.
Cheatham’s family previously denied statements made by Bronx police officials that the teen hanged herself — statements that, according to the Times, were made before the medical examiner made an official cause of death ruling. Her mother, Thomasina Cheatham, said her daughter was in good spirits on the Fourth of July, the day she was arrested, when she was at a barbecue with relatives. Thomasina also noted that she was not wearing a sweater at the time as it was July.
“ I just want to know what happened to Saniyah,” Thomasina said Monday, describing her daughter as “bright, independent, smart and outgoing.”
“That was my only daughter and she didn’t deserve this.”
Now, the family seems to be more open to the possibility that Cheatham, indeed, hung herself in her cell, but there’s still the issue of the jail surveillance video that they’re reportedly not being allowed to see.
“We’re not saying it’s impossible, but it does make you scratch your head,” Crump said. “It is not adding up to the family. That’s why they want to see the video.”
Crump’s office also released the following statement on Sunday:
“Saniyah Cheatham was an 18-year-old with her whole life ahead of her. I commend her mother, Thomasina, for her courage in standing up to demand the truth. How could this happen to a young woman in police custody? Why wasn’t her safety ensured by those charged with her care? No mother should be left in the dark after her child dies in police custody. We demand full transparency and accountability for this grieving family.”
Cheatham’s case is eerily similar to that of Sandra Bland, who was found dead in her jail cell in Waller County, Texas, in 2015, after a confrontation with a police officer during a traffic stop.
When Black people die under mysterious circumstances, especially while in the custody of law enforcement, and family and community members are told it was a suicide, it’s unreasonable to expect it to be accepted without full and swift transparency.
Rest well, Saniyah Cheatham, and may you and your family receive justice.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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