SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An investigation was underway into the death of a 55-year-old man who was in custody at San Diego Central Jail and died at a hospital, authorities reported Thursday.
At around 11:55 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff's deputies discovered the man unresponsive inside a holding cell. The facility's medical staff was requested and began lifesaving measures, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Paramedics with the San Diego Fire Department assumed medical attention upon arrival and the victim was taken to a hospital, where he died at 1:15 a.m. Thursday. His name has not yet been released.
The inmate had been in sheriff's custody for public intoxication for two days before he passed.
The cause and manner of death will be determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office, the department stated.
San Diego County has been under intense scrutiny for years over its unusually high number of in-custody deaths. In 2022, the California State Auditor found "deficiencies with how the sheriff's department provides care for and protects incarcerated individuals (that) likely contributed to in- custody deaths."
That audit examined 185 deaths within the San Diego County jail system from 2006 through 2020, a rate that exceeded all of California's other large counties during that time period. The county had 19 custody deaths in 2022 alone, and another six in 2023.
The Sheriff's Office has committed to a $500 million effort to modernize and upgrade its jails, but advocates have questioned whether those efforts are sufficient.
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