Latest news with #SaniyahCheatham
Black America Web
3 days ago
- Black America Web
Black Teen Saniyah Cheatham Dies While In NYPD Custody
Source: Yassine Bahammou / Getty For the Cheatham family, the July 4th holiday was initially a time of joy and celebration. The family had gotten together for a cookout, where 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham was said to be healthy and in good spirits. The evening took a tragic turn only hours later after the family received news that Cheatham had died while in NYPD custody. Thomasina Cheatham told CBS News her daughter, Saniyah, was her normal self during a Fourth of July cookout at Crotona Park. 'We [were] hanging out, having a good time. 'Mommy, I love you,' giving me a kiss. And now to wake up that she's no longer here with us, it's really sickening.' At some point after the cookout, the NYPD arrested Saniyah Cheatham for allegedly being involved in a fight. She was taken to the 41st Police Precinct in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx shortly before midnight. Anonymous NYPD officials with knowledge of the case told the New York Times that at about 12:15 a.m. Saniyah hanged herself with the sweater she was wearing while in her cell. An NYPD official told the Times she had only been in the cell for two minutes when she hanged herself. In a statement sent to CBS, the NYPD said they called for Emergency Medical Services at about 12:40 a.m. and attempted CPR while awaiting medical help. Saniyah Cheatham was transferred to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. It's unclear if there were any other detainees in the cell, if anyone witnessed the incident, or if Saniyah called for help. 'How could that happen in a precinct? Was anybody watching her? Was she calling out for help?' Thomasina asked in an interview with CBS. The NYPD has said that the Force Investigation Division is looking into the circumstances surrounding Saniyah Cheatham's death. Thomasina is hopeful that security cameras in the jail and the medical examiner's autopsy will give a clearer understanding of what led to her daughter's death. 'The cameras should show exactly what happened…I'm praying that it does. I'm really praying. This is very heartbreaking to me and my family. That was my only princess. I have four boys and one girl. And we just … we just [are] really heartbroken right now,' Thomasina Cheatham told CBS. Saniyah Cheatham's death and alleged suicide have shocked many of her close friends and family. They say she enrolled at Bronx Community College and worked so she could save up money to live on her own. Growing up, Saniyah was active in the church, which initially caused her to struggle with her sexuality. When she came out as gay to her older brother, he accepted her with no hesitation. 'That's what made our bond really close,' her older brother told the Times. 'She knew all of me, and I knew all of her. She just got me.' Ember Baez, Saniyah Cheatham's friend and former partner, told the Times, 'Everyone who has spoken to her recently knows she's been happy. So when I heard this happened, I called her multiple times to see if it was real, and her phone just kept going straight to voicemail.' The alleged details of Saniyah Cheatham's death bear a striking similarity to Sandra Bland, a Black woman who died while in police custody. Bland was arrested during a traffic stop and taken into custody at Waller County Jail in Texas. She was unable to post the $5,000 cash bail, and after three days in custody, she allegedly hanged herself in her cell. While Bland's death was officially ruled a suicide, there has long been skepticism over the official narrative. Bland's death while in police custody helped bring more awareness to the #SayHerName campaign, which was launched in December 2014 by the African American Policy Forum (AAPF) and the Center for Intersectionality and Social Policy Studies (CISPS) 'to cut through this disturbing reality and resist the invisibility of Black women, girls, and femmes by telling their stories of police violence.' From Freddie Gray, Marvin Scott III, Noni Battiste-Kosoko, and Ta'Neasha Chappell, there has been an alarming trend of Black people dying in police custody in the years since Sandra Bland's death. Sadly, Saniyah Cheatham's name is now added to that list. SEE ALSO: #SayHerName: Black Women And Girls Killed By Police How #SayHerName Transformed Advocacy For Black Women SEE ALSO Black Teen Saniyah Cheatham Dies While In NYPD Custody was originally published on
New York Times
5 days ago
- New York Times
N.Y.P.D. Investigates the Death of an 18-Year-Old in a Bronx Precinct
The Police Department is investigating the death of an 18-year-old woman in a cell at a Bronx police precinct early Saturday, the authorities said on Monday. The woman, Saniyah Cheatham, who had been arrested on Friday, was found unconscious just after 12:30 a.m. at the station house of the 41st Police Precinct in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx, the police said. The police did not say why Ms. Cheatham was arrested or whether she was charged with a crime. How Ms. Cheatham died is unclear. Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner, said an autopsy was performed on Sunday, and a cause of death is pending. But according to two law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter who were not authorized to speak about the case, Ms. Cheatham was inside her cell when, around 12:15 a.m., she hanged herself with her sweater. The department's Force Investigation Division is investigating the incident, the police said. Ms. Cheatham's friends were stunned, saying that she appeared to be in good spirits on Friday morning before attending a Fourth of July family barbecue in the Bronx. Her close friend, Ember Baez, 20, said she texted with Ms. Cheatham on July 4, and nothing seemed amiss. 'Everyone who has spoken to her recently knows she's been happy,' Ms. Baez said. 'So when I heard this happened, I called her multiple times to see if it was real, and her phone just kept going straight to voice mail.' 'It makes no sense,' she added. After Ms. Cheatham's arrest on Friday, officers brought her to the 41st Precinct, the police said. Just after midnight, officers led Ms. Cheatham into a cell, according to one of the officials. Within two minutes, she had taken off her sweater and used it to hang herself, the official said. It was unclear on Monday whether Ms. Cheatham was in the cell with other detainees, or whether anyone else witnessed her actions or the actions of the officers. At 12:40 a.m., the officers, who are required to perform routine cell checks once every half-hour, discovered Ms. Cheatham, according to the official and the police. The officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation while waiting for an ambulance, the police said. Ms. Cheatham was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln, where she was pronounced dead. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to for a list of additional resources.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
18-year-old woman dies while in NYPD custody in the Bronx. Here's what we know.
Mother desperate for answers after teen daughter dies while in NYPD custody Mother desperate for answers after teen daughter dies while in NYPD custody Mother desperate for answers after teen daughter dies while in NYPD custody A Bronx mother is desperate for answers after her teenage daughter mysteriously died while in NYPD custody over the July 4 holiday weekend. An internal investigation is underway. Tragedy unfolds hours after a happy family gathering Saniyah Cheatham, an 18-year-old Bronx Community College student who loved music and dancing, was joking around Friday at a family 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. But just hours later, Thomasina Cheatham says she got a call that her daughter was found unresponsive in a jail cell at the NYPD's 41st Precinct in the Bronx, after she and a friend were arrested earlier for fighting. "And now to wake up that she's no longer here with us, it's really sickening. I haven't slept. I haven't ate since Saturday. I'm sorry," Thomasina Cheatham said, wiping away tears. There are many more questions than answers The NYPD told CBS News New York in a statement that at around 12:40 a.m. on Saturday, police requested EMS for an 18-year-old unconscious female prisoner, adding multiple officers performed CPR while awaiting EMS response. EMS transported the female prisoner to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by hospital staff. The department said its Force Investigation Division is investigating. But there are still so many unanswered questions about what happened in that jail cell, including one Thomasina Cheatham wants answered more than any other: How did her daughter stop breathing? "She's very healthy. What was the medical emergency?" she said. "How could that happen in a precinct? Was anybody watching her? Was she calling out for help?" Saniyah Cheatham's mother said she hopes access to police surveillance and body camera video will offer clues about what happened. "The cameras should show exactly what happened," Thomasina Cheatham said. As will the medical examiner's report, which hasn't yet been released. "Yes, I'm praying that it does. I'm really praying. This is very heartbreaking to me and my family. That was my only princess. I have four boys and one girl. And we just ... we just [are] really heartbroken right now," Thomasina Cheatham said.
