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 family demands answers and NYPD footage
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.
