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Mother Demands Answers After 18-Year-Old Dies in Police Custody
BRONX, NEW YORK CITY, JUL 14 – Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is advocating for transparency and legal accountability after 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham died in NYPD custody, with family disputing the suicide ruling.
- Saniyah Cheatham, an 18-year-old woman from the Bronx, was found deceased by suicide after hanging herself inside a holding cell at the NYPD's 41st Precinct stationhouse on July 5.
- She was arrested the day before in connection with an assault, but the exact reason remains unclear and the family questions the police's account of her death.
- Officers discovered Cheatham unresponsive around 12:40 a.m. and administered CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived and took her to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
- Cheatham's mother described her as bright, independent, smart, and outgoing, and her family, with attorney Ben Crump and activist Tamika Mallory, demand the release of surveillance footage to clarify her death.
- The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, the case is under investigation by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, and the family continues seeking accountability and full disclosure.
35 Articles
35 Articles
18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham died of apparent suicide in a cell during the weekend of July 4th; family members and their lawyer ask for transparency
Saniyah Cheatham’s Family Demands Answers in Her Death
The Fourth of July was the last time family and friends saw or heard from Saniyah Cheatham. Just hours before the 18-year-old was arrested in connection with a fight involving a friend, her mother said she was “happy” at their family barbecue. A close friend who texted with her that day agreed that she was in good spirits. Police said after midnight on July 5, Cheatham was found unconscious within the 41st Precinct in the Bronx, New York. Insid…
Bronx family wants answers about suicide behind bars
(New York, NY) — A Bronx family is demanding to know how their 18-year-old daughter was able to commit suicide inside the 41st Precinct on July 4th. The Medical Examiner determined Sanyiah Cheatham died by hanging. She was cuffed by cops after getting into a fight with a friend. Sanyiah was brought back to the Bronx stationhouse and put in a holding cell. She was later found unresponsive in that cell. Officers and EMTs say they tried to revive…
Associated Press News
Bronx family seeks answers after teen dies in police custody over the July Fourth weekend
A New York City family is seeking answers after local authorities say a teenager died of an apparent suicide while in police custody over the July Fourth weekend.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Representing Saniyah Cheatham’s Family
Source: NYCPSL / NYCPSL Civil Rights attorney Benjamin Crump announced Sunday that he’s representing the family of Saniyah Cheatham, the 18-year-old Black girl who died while in NYPD custody over the Fourth of July weekend. “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 …
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