An 18‑year‑old Bronx teenager who died in police custody early Saturday morning at the 41st Precinct on Longwood Avenue in Hunts Point, has been identified as Saniyah Cheatham, according to the NYPD.
Officials said Cheatham was found unresponsive in her cell around 12:40 a.m. on July 5, prompting police to call for EMS to respond to the stationhouse.
“Multiple officers performed CPR while awaiting EMS response,” the NYPD said in a statement.
Emergency medical services rushed the teen to Lincoln Hospital, but she was pronounced dead by medical staff.
Officials said the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division is handling the investigation into Cheatham’s death.
Authorities have yet to release the medical examiner’s findings or publicly identify the reason for Cheatham’s arrest, although CBS News New York reported that the teen was taken into custody for fighting.
Videos and photos also revealed that hours before she was arrested, Cheatham was celebrating Independence Day at a cookout with family and friends in Crotona Park.
Cheatham’s mother, Thomasina Cheatham, mourned her daughter’s death on Facebook Wednesday. She asked friends and family to take a moment of silence for the young woman.
“For my precious princess Saniyah, she’s no longer with us, S.I.H.P. [sleep in heavenly peace] angel,” Thomasina Cheatham said in the social media post. “I miss you so much. We shall meet again.”
The New York Times reported Tuesday that law enforcement officials with knowledge of Cheatham’s death said that the young woman killed herself in her cell shortly after her arrest, using her sweater to hang herself. NYPD officials did not respond to the Bronx Times questions about Cheatham’s manner of death.
Cheatham’s mother has not yet responded to the Bronx Times’ requests for comment.
