The ‘Female Eric Garner’? : Woman Suffocates To Death While in Police Custody

A new petition is circulating around the internet in response to death of an African American woman at the hands of police officers who many are calling the “female Eric Garner.”

The petition is demanding a federal and state investigation into the death of 18-year-old Sheneque Proctor.

The Female Eric Garner ?

According to the story, Proctor was killed in the Bessemer City Jail in Alabama after she was arrested on November 1st.

She was at a Bessemer hotel at a party with friends when police arrived and arrested her for “disorderly conduct,”.

Early the next morning, Proctor was found dead in her jail cell, after having complained of problems with asthma in which is alleged police apparently refused to take seriously.

Bessemer City Attorney Shan Paden commented, “I know the case. I know we had a death in the jail. Erring on a conservative side, not to protect the city but to protect the rights of an 18-year-old, the city of Bessemer will not disclose any information.”

The petition was created on Change.org, but has received relatively little attention. The petition explains the following about Sheneque Proctor’s death and links it to unrest throughout the nation.

“The death of Black Men like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice is a clear indication that Black Lives are in jeopardy from Police who have declared it open season on Black Men,” Karen Jones of Montgomery Alabama writes, in her description of the petition.

“Insult over injury no indictment and a video which clearly shows officers using a choke hold on Eric Garner who loudly and clearly stated that he could NOT breathe was not enough to save his life.

“Yet in Alabama where most of the historical landmark Civil Right Movements and cases we have lost an 18 year old Black young woman under the hands of Bessemer Police,” the petition continues.

Proctor’s family says the woman suffered from asthma, and complained about being mistreated by the Bessemer Police officers who made the arrest. After making complaints, she was found dead in her jail cell the next morning.

But Bessemer authorities have refused to so much as comment on the case. All media inquires have been referred to the State Bureau of Investigations, which spokeswoman Robyn Bryan says “is looking into the case.”

“This family deserves some answers,” the petition declares. “We don’t need another ‘I can’t breathe’ story. Her life mattered and still matters to her family. They deserve answers from the State Bureau of Investigations and the FBI.”