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HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — The Texas Department of Public Safety says the state trooper who stopped Sandra Bland violated traffic stop procedures and the department's courtesy policy and is now on administrative leave while the Texas Rangers and the FBI investigate Bland's death.
Bland was arrested on July 10 in Prairie View following a traffic stop. She was found dead in her cell on Monday. Authorities say she hanged herself.
Friends and relatives doubt the story. Their recollections and Bland's own words present a picture of a young woman on the cusp of finding her niche in life, having landed a job at her alma mater Prairie View A&M University. She also had developed a voice and following on social media for speaking out about racial injustice and police brutality.
Meanwhile, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has cited the Waller County jail for not properly monitoring inmates.
The county sheriff says jailers used an intercom to check on Bland less than an hour before she was found dead.
%@AP Links
196-a-11-(Sound of man leading protesters, at a rally over the death of Sandra Bland in prison)-"is that right? That's right"-Sound of man leading protesters after the death of Sandra Bland in prison. (17 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *196 (07/17/15)££ 00:11 "is that right? That's right"
195-a-05-(Troinee (truh-NAY') Broom, protester, in interview)-"this happened, really?"-Protester Troinee Broom wants more information about what happened to Sandra Bland, because it doesn't seem right. (17 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *195 (07/17/15)££ 00:05 "this happened, really?"
194-a-07-(Anesha (uh-NEESH'-uh) Rowser, protester, in interview)-"at any time"-Protester Anesha Rowser says she's alarmed by the jailing and death of Sandra Bland, who was locked up after a traffic stop. (17 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *194 (07/17/15)££ 00:07 "at any time"
197-r-18-(Sound of demonstrators, protesting the death of Sandra Bland in prison)--Sound of demonstrators chanting 'No Justice, No Peace,' following the death of Sandra Bland in prison, which authorities have ruled a suicide. (17 Jul 2015)
<<CUT *197 (07/17/15)££ 00:18
APPHOTO TXHOU205: Protesters march from Waller County Jail to the Waller County Courthouse, in Hempstead, Texas, Friday July 17, 2015, to protest the death of Sandra Bland, who was found dead in the jail. Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said there were no cameras in Bland's jail cell to show if the Illinois woman hanged herself in the lockup as a medical examiner has ruled. Her relatives and supporters dispute the finding. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (17 Jul 2015)
<<APPHOTO TXHOU205 (07/17/15)££
APPHOTO TXHOU206: Protesters rally outside the Waller County Courthouse after a march from the Waller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas, Friday July 17, 2015, to protest the death of Sandra Bland, who was found dead in the jail. Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said there were no cameras in Bland's jail cell to show if the Illinois woman hanged herself in the lockup as a medical examiner has ruled. Her relatives and supporters dispute the finding. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (17 Jul 2015)
<<APPHOTO TXHOU206 (07/17/15)££
APPHOTO TXKJ101: This undated handout photo provided by the Waller County Sheriff's Office shows Sandra Bland. The Texas Rangers are investigating the circumstances surrounding Bland's death Monday, July 13, 2015 in a Waller County jail cell in Hempstead, Texas. The Harris County medical examiner has classified her death as suicide by hanging. She had been arrested Friday in Waller County on a charge of assaulting a public servant. (Waller County Sheriff's Office, via AP) (16 Jul 2015)
<<APPHOTO TXKJ101 (07/16/15)££
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