Source: Thomasina Cheatham via Facebook / Thomasina Cheatham via Facebook

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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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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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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A Bronx mother is demanding answers after the NYPD said her 18-year-old daughter allegedly died by suicide just hours after being taken into custody over the July 4th holiday weekend.

According to CBS News, police found Saniyah Cheatham unconscious inside her jail cell at the 41st Precinct on Longwood Avenue in the Bronx just before 1 a.m. Saturday. Several police officers performed CPR on the young woman before she was later pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital.

Cheatham, a Bronx Community College student, had just been spending time with family at a Friday cookout in Crotona Park, her mother said.

“We [were] hanging out, having a good time. ‘Mommy, I love you,’ giving me a kiss,” Thomasina Cheatham said, per CBS News.

A fight with her girlfriend led to Saniyah Cheatham’s arrest

According to the family, Cheatham and her girlfriend got into a physical fight after the cookout, which led to their arrest. Officers later administered CPR measures on her after being found lifeless and unresponsive in her cell around 12:40 a.m., NBC News reported.

While the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division investigates Cheatham’s death, her mother disputes the claim that her daughter died by suicide.

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

The NYPD said Cheatham used a sweater to asphyxiate herself, but Thomasina noted she was wearing different clothing the last time she saw her.

“She did not have on a sweater that day,” she said.

On Tuesday, the family demanded that the NYPD release surveillance footage from inside the precinct and that the arresting officers turn over their body-worn camera video.

“Oh she hung herself on the bars. I would like to see that,” Thomasina said.

As of now, the medical examiner has not determined an official cause of death following an examination on Sunday.

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