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The family of a New York City teenager is demanding transparency after officials alleged that she died by suicide while in jail, PEOPLE reports.
18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham, a student at Bronx Community College, was reportedly arrested on July 4 following a fight with her girlfriend. Cheatham was found dead in her jail cell shortly after midnight on July 5.
The medical examiner's office said Cheatham died by suicide from hanging, but her family is seeking further investigation into her death.
“The NYPD claims Saniyah took her own life, but her family is demanding full transparency,” attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said in a statement, “including the immediate release of all video, including surveillance video from inside the 41st Precinct. Saniyah was preparing to start her next semester at Bronx Community College.”
Cheatham’s mother, Thomasina, believes there were other factors involved in her daughter's death.
“I don’t believe she killed herself," the mother said. "Maybe she said something they didn’t like, they roughed her up. I don’t believe my daughter committed suicide."
The family said Cheatham didn't have a history of suicidal behavior. Cheatham's mother also disputed police's account that her daughter asphyxiated herself with a sweater, noting the teen didn't have a sweater in her possession that day.
A rally and press conference were held in the wake of Cheatham's death on Monday (July 14).
“We want to know what happened to Saniyah Cheatham, we want to know how it happened to Saniyah Cheatham,” Crump said at the press conference. “And we want to know why you did not prevent this from happening."
Cheatham's family is also urging authorities to release her autopsy. The NYPD Force Investigation Division said they're looking into the case.
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