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Saline jail dead 3rd one in '08; cause of death not known |
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Saturday, 20 December 2008 |
A 28-year-old Benton man died late Thursday after being detained at the Saline County jail, authorities said Friday.
The death of Johnny Thompson marks the third death this year at the new detention center in Benton. The first two deaths were reported as suicides.
The cause of death Thursday is not yet determined, but sheriff’s Capt. Scotty Court-ney said “no foul play is suspected.”
Thompson was ar-rested Thursday eve-ning on multiple warrants charging him with failure to appear in court. The warrants were issued by various law enforcement agencies in the state, Courtney said.
Courtney said Thompson was brought to the jail around 7 o’clock and was going through the booking process. Just before 9:20, the jail staff called 911. Med-Tran ambulance personnel took Thompson to Saline Me-morial Hospital in Benton, where he was pronounced dead at 9:30, Courtney said.
Thompson’s body has been sent to the state Crime Laboratory and Arkansas State Police authorities have taken over the investigation.
The first jail death was reported on July 6. Wade Hart, 21, of Benton was found dead in a cell after being arrested on a charge of public intoxication.
“Breakfast had been served about 7:30, and he was found when they were picking up trays,” Courtney said.
“He used a piece of his clothing, which was tied around his neck and the sink and commode, which are one piece. He tied it around a piece of the unit and basically suffocated.”
Courtney said that incident was reviewed and he does not believe that inadequate staffing — something the jail continues to struggle with — contributed to the death on July 6.
“Everything I’ve looked at, as far as policies and procedures go, doesn’t lead me to believe that anything could have been changed to prevent this, unless we hire a jailer for every prisoner we have,” he has said.
“Unless you have somebody watching them every minute, things like this can happen when a person is really determined [to harm himself].”
On July 26, Giovanni Gurrieri Jr., 26, of Little Rock was found dead in a cell with a bed sheet tied around his neck. The other end of the bed sheet was tied around the top bunk of a bed.
Courtney and jail administrator Lt. Hugh Gentry said Gurrieri had shown no signs that he was suicidal or depressed and that he was expected to be released later that day. Gurrieri was also brought into the jail on a failure to appear warrant from Bryant for traffic violations. Officials said Gurrieri originally was to be released from jail even before the death, but after appearing in Saline County District Court, more charges were levied against him. The second warrant charged Gurrieri with breaking and entering and criminal attempt to commit theft of property, according to an arrest report from the Saline County jail.
“Saline County detectives served him with a felony warrant, and he was put back in jail,” Courtney said, “but he was expected to be released [the day of his death].”
Courtney said neither Hart nor Gurrieri showed any signs of suicide or depression. He said if that had been noticed, administrators would have placed them under suicide watch. When placed under suicide watch, a prisoner’s clothing is removed to prevent him or her from using any part of the clothing to cause harm to themselves, Courtney said. He also said the general population of inmates is checked about every hour.
“If you’re determined to do it, you can kill yourself with a sock or underwear,” Courtney said. “There was no indication at all that he had these kinds of thoughts.”
Saline County Sheriff Phil Mask said after the second death that he was distraught of both deaths, but still stood by the accounts of his jail staff.
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