After police mentioned an 18-year-old girl took her personal life whereas in NYPD custody, {the teenager}’s household is now elevating questions on her final hours alive — demanding solutions and calling for extra info to be launched.
In keeping with police, Sanyah Cheatham was discovered unconscious inside a cell at a stationhouse on Longwood Avenue simply earlier than 1 a.m. Saturday. She was pronounced lifeless a short while later at Lincoln Hospital.
However simply hours earlier than her arrest, Cheatham’s mom mentioned her daughter was all smiles at a household July Fourth cookout in Crotona Park.
“She was happy and I was happy to see her,” mentioned Thomasina Cheatham.
The household mentioned that after the cookout, Cheatham obtained right into a bodily struggle along with her girlfriend, resulting in each of them getting arrested during which each had been arrested. The NYPD has not but confirmed these particulars, however did say officers carried out CPR on her after she was discovered seemingly lifeless within the precinct cell round 12:40 a.m.
The NYPD’s Drive Investigation Division, which investigates circumstances when an individual in police custody dies, is wanting into Cheatham’s case.
As for her mom, she is casting doubt on her daughter’s demise being a suicide.
“What happened to her? I don’t believe she killed herself,” mentioned Thomasina. “Maybe she said something they didn’t like, they roughed her up. I don’t believe my daughter committed suicide.”
The household mentioned police advised them that Cheatham used a sweater to asphyxiate herself.
“She did not have on a sweater that day,” her mom mentioned.
The Cheatham household on Tuesday known as on the NYPD to launch surveillance footage of contained in the precinct and demanded arresting officers flip of their lapel video.
“Oh she hung herself on the bars. I would like to see that,” Thomasina Cheatham mentioned.
{The teenager}’s brother known as for post-mortem outcomes to be launched as effectively.
The health worker had not but decided a explanation for demise, beforehand saying it was pending additional examine following an examination on Sunday.
