Report: Mother Found Dead in Police Custody, Sister Says "She Was Perfectly Fine"

According to The Independent, the police had accused Jones, age 37, of "striking her ex-husband in the arm with a tire iron outside of a Save-A-Lot food store" this past Friday.  Police also state that Jones attempted to run her ex-husband over with her car, while her young daughter was in the backseat.  Police arrested Jones, but her former spouse did not press charges.  

Police have stated to news outlets that Jones was "lethargic" on Saturday night and was taken to the hospital for treatment.  The Guardian reports that police administered a prescribed medication for high blood pressure and continually checked up on her throughout the night while she remained behind bars.  She was found unresponsive the next morning at 7:30am.  Following a preliminary autopsy, the local medical examiner allegedly claims Ralkina Jones suffered "no suspicious injuries."

Jones' sister Renee Ashford told Cleveland.com she "was perfectly fine" that Saturday - "she didn't complain of nothing, saying she was hurting or anything."  And now, Ashford is claiming they aren't getting answers from police. 

"Every time we call we don't get an answer and that's the upsetting part," Ashford stated to Cleveland.com.

This isn't Ashford's first family member to die while in police custody, according to the local news outlet.  Her uncle, Craig Bickerstaff, was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer over ten years ago.  The family received $22,500 after filing a lawsuit against the city.

Jones' death occurred two weeks after the death of another black woman, Sandra Bland, who died in police custody.