The family of 18-year-old Bronx college student Saniyah Cheatham is questioning official claims that the teen died by suicide while in New York Police Department custody, saying key details do not add up and demanding the release of surveillance footage.
Cheatham, a student at Bronx Community College, was arrested last week after what family members say was a physical altercation with her girlfriend following a cookout.
She was taken to the 41st Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx, where she was later found unresponsive in a holding cell just after midnight Saturday.
According to NYPD officials, Cheatham appeared lifeless around 12:40 a.m. Officers reportedly performed CPR until emergency responders arrived and transported her to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police sources told CBS News New York that the preliminary belief is that Cheatham died by suicide, allegedly using a sweater. However, her mother has publicly disputed that account, noting that her daughter was not wearing a sweater when she left home that day.
“She wasn’t even wearing a sweater,” the grieving mother said. “I don’t believe she took her own life. I want to see the video.”
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, which handles cases involving deaths in custody, has launched a formal inquiry. The department has yet to confirm the exact circumstances surrounding Cheatham’s arrest or the events that occurred while she was in custody.
The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner has not yet released an official cause of death.
The NYPD issued a brief statement confirming the ongoing investigation but did not respond to questions regarding bodycam or precinct surveillance footage.
Civil rights advocates and community members have also begun raising concerns about the lack of transparency in the case, drawing attention to a broader pattern of skepticism surrounding deaths in police custody.
“The death of Saniyah Cheatham is a tragedy that deserves a thorough and transparent investigation,” said one community leader. “We cannot afford silence when a young Black woman dies while in the care of law enforcement.”
Cheatham’s family says they are still in shock and have not yet received a complete explanation of what occurred inside the precinct.
“We just want the truth,” her mother said. “My daughter had a whole life ahead of her.”
As the Force Investigation Division continues its probe, calls for the release of surveillance footage and additional details are intensifying.
