The family of 18-year-old Saniyah Cheatham is demanding answers and accountability after she was discovered dead in an NYPD holding cell just hours after her arrest on July 4.
Cheatham, a student at Bronx Community College, was taken into custody following an alleged domestic dispute involving her girlfriend, according to police sources. In the early hours of July 5, she was found hanging in a cell at the 41st Precinct in the Bronx. The city medical examiner later ruled her death a suicide by hanging.
However, Cheatham’s family is questioning the official narrative.
“I don’t believe my daughter took her own life,” said her mother, Thomasina Cheatham, at a recent press conference held alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump. “Something else happened in that precinct. I want the truth.”
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Crump, known for representing families in high-profile cases involving alleged police misconduct, called for transparency and the release of all surveillance footage from inside the precinct.
“The NYPD’s explanation raises serious concerns,” Crump said. “We need to see the videos. The family deserves to know what really happened.”
The Cheatham family maintains that Saniyah had no history of suicidal behavior and disputes the police claim that she used a sweater to hang herself — insisting she wasn’t wearing one when she was taken into custody.
An internal investigation is underway by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division. Meanwhile, Saniyah’s brother has urged the department to release the full autopsy report and any other relevant documentation surrounding her death.
The case has sparked broader calls for police accountability and transparency, particularly in cases involving in-custody deaths.
