What Happened to Saniyah Cheatham? 18-Year-Old Black Teen Dies in NYPD Custody, Family Demands Answers

info@blaqly.com — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:06:05 +0000

Source: Thomasina Cheatham via Facebook

For the Cheatham family, the July 4th holiday was initially a time of joy and celebration. The family had gathered for a cookout, where 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham was reportedly healthy and in good spirits. The evening took a tragic turn only hours later after the family received news that Cheatham had died while in NYPD custody.

Thomasina Cheatham told CBS News her daughter, Saniyah, was her normal self during a Fourth of July cookout at Crotona Park. “We [were] hanging out, having a good time. ‘Mommy, I love you,’ giving me a kiss. And now to wake up that she’s no longer here with us, it’s really sickening.”

At some point after the cookout, the NYPD arrested Saniyah Cheatham for allegedly being involved in a fight. She was taken to the 41st Police Precinct in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx shortly before midnight. Anonymous NYPD officials with knowledge of the case told the New York Times that at about 12:15 a.m. Saniyah hanged herself with the sweater she was wearing while in her cell. An NYPD official told the Times she had only been in the cell for two minutes when she hanged herself.

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Source: Yassine Bahammou / Getty

In a statement sent to CBS, the NYPD said they called for Emergency Medical Services at about 12:40 a.m. and attempted CPR while awaiting medical help. Saniyah Cheatham was transferred to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. It’s unclear if there were any other detainees in the cell, if anyone witnessed the incident, or if Saniyah called for help.

“How could that happen in a precinct? Was anybody watching her? Was she calling out for help?” Thomasina asked in an interview with CBS.

The NYPD has said that the Force Investigation Division is looking into the circumstances surrounding Saniyah Cheatham’s death. Thomasina is hopeful that security cameras in the jail and the medical examiner’s autopsy will give a clearer understanding of what led to her daughter’s death.

“The cameras should show exactly what happened…I’m praying that it does. I’m really praying. This is very heartbreaking to me and my family. That was my only princess. I have four boys and one girl. And we just … we just [are] really heartbroken right now,” Thomasina Cheatham told CBS.

Saniyah Cheatham’s death and alleged suicide have shocked many of her close friends and family. They say she enrolled at Bronx Community College and worked so she could save up money to live on her own. Growing up, Saniyah was active in the church, which initially caused her to struggle with her sexuality. When she came out as gay to her older brother, he accepted her with no hesitation.

“That’s what made our bond really close,” her older brother told the Times. “She knew all of me, and I knew all of her. She just got me.”

Ember Baez, Saniyah Cheatham’s friend and former partner, told the Times, “Everyone who has spoken to her recently knows she’s been happy. So when I heard this happened, I called her multiple times to see if it was real, and her phone just kept going straight to voicemail.”

The alleged details of Saniyah Cheatham’s death bear a striking similarity to Sandra Bland, a Black woman who died while in police custody. Bland was arrested during a traffic stop and taken into custody at Waller County Jail in Texas. She was unable to post the $5,000 cash bail, and after three days in custody, she allegedly hanged herself in her cell. While Bland’s death was officially ruled a suicide, there has long been skepticism over the official narrative.

Bland’s death while in police custody helped bring more awareness to the #SayHerName campaign, which was launched in December 2014 by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS) “to cut through this disturbing reality and resist the invisibility of Black women, girls, and femmes by telling their stories of police violence.”

From Freddie Gray, Marvin Scott III, Noni Battiste-Kosoko, and Ta’Neasha Chappell, there has been an alarming trend of Black people dying in police custody in the years since Sandra Bland’s death. Sadly, Saniyah Cheatham’s name is now added to that list.

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The post What Happened to Saniyah Cheatham? 18-Year-Old Black Teen Dies in NYPD Custody, Family Demands Answers appeared first on MadameNoire.

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Saniyah Cheatham: Family Suspicious Of NYPD Claiming In-Custody Suicide, Demanding Info Release

info@blaqly.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 03:34:39 +0000

Source: Gary Hershorn / Getty

There’s a case out of New York drawing Sandra Bland comparisons.

If the police, especially the NYPD, are telling you a story, your best bet is to second-guess everything they say, hire the best attorney that you can afford, pressure them publicly, and be prepared to fight. Contrary to the jingoistic mantras that some would have you believe, justice isn’t given in America; it’s paid for in blood, tears, and sweat equity.

According to a NBC NewYork report, the NYPD has told a grieving family that 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham took her own life while in police custody last weekend. Cheatham had just celebrated the July 4 holiday with her family in Corona Park (Queens) when she got into a physical altercation with her girlfriend that led to both women being arrested. Around 12:40 p.m. the next morning, police say they found Cheatham lying lifeless in her cell and allegedly attempted to perform CPR to no avail.

The family ain’t trying to hear none of that.

Said Saniyah’s mother Thomasina Cheatham, “She was happy and I was happy to see her.” The NYPD told Thomasina that Saniyah had used a sweater to choke herself to death, but the mother says her daughter did not have a sweater that day, which stands to reason because…it’s July…in New York.

“What happened to her? I don’t believe she killed herself,” said Thomasina. “Maybe she said something they didn’t like, they roughed her up. I don’t believe my daughter committed suicide.”

The medical examiner has not yet determined a cause of death, and the family is demanding that all security footage from the jail be released to the public, and the body camera video of the arresting officers be released as well.

Bronx News 12 spoke to Saniyah’s brother, Javan, who said that even news of her arrest was shocking because his sister was not a violent person or the type to initiate a fight.

“Saniyah’s not really a fighter,” Javan said. “She would rather talk to you first than hit you or start a fight with you or anything like that.”

Something ain’t right and the math ain’t mathing. We will be following this story closely and will provide updates as they become available.

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The post Saniyah Cheatham: Family Suspicious Of NYPD Claiming In-Custody Suicide, Demanding Info Release first appeared on Blaqly.

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What Happened to Saniyah Cheatham? 18-Year-Old Black Teen Dies in NYPD Custody, Family Demands Answers

Saniyah Cheatham: Family Suspicious Of NYPD Claiming In-Custody Suicide, Demanding Info Release