Hundreds Of Mourners Say Goodbye To Sandra Bland
LISLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Hundreds of friends, family and strangers attended the wake and funeral today in Lisle for Sandra Bland, the former suburban woman involved in a controversial traffic stop in Texas who was later found dead in a jail cell, reports WBBM's Mike Krauser.
Walking into the funeral service for her friend Sandra Bland, Jasmine Johnson said she was overwhelmed, emotional and nauseated.
"We're going to remember a lot of fun things and good times that we had and I don't believe that she wanted us to be sad today," Johnson said.
Bland's home going service was held at the same Lisle church where she chose to follow the Christian faith, at the age of nine.
"We're going to be celebrating the fact that she found her voice in social justice," said Rev. Theresa Dear of DuPage AME Church.
Bland's mother told the packed church about the recent road trip she took with her daughter. During that time her mother said Bland revealed her life's purpose: to stop all injustice against Blacks.
Bland's case remains under investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement.
Podcast
This case was triggered by a July 10 traffic stop when Sandra Bland was pulled over for allegedly "failing to signal a lane change" in Waller County, Texas.
Family says she was in the process of taking a new job at Prairie View A&M University.
Dashcam video shows the stop escalating after she was asked to put out a cigarette.
The officer eventually took out a stun gun pulled Bland out of the car who did not comply with his earlier requests. That officer is now on desk duty after threatening to, "light her up."
She was found dead in her jail cell three days later. Investigators say she used a trash bag to hang herself in a jail cell.
Documents upon check-in show she tried to kill herself before, and reported feeling depressed, but not suicidal.
From the outset family members said she would not try to take her own life. Guards were supposed to check her cell hourly and that didn't happen.
Reverend Theresa Dear says she does not believe Bland took her own life.
"When you are an activist and a fighter, you don't take your own life ladies and gentleman," Rev. Dear said. "What Waller County has tried to present this world absolutely defies logic."
Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Bill Foster both spoke at Bland's funeral. They say they are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a fair, unbiased federal investigation to determine the facts surrounding Bland's case.
