SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An inmate at the San Diego Central Jail downtown who fainted while in custody died at a hospital Sunday, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to a day room at the jail Sunday at about 4:20 a.m., where several inmates indicated the unidentified 45-year-old man had fainted and was in medical distress.
"Deputies located the man in the day room area, where he was disoriented but responsive," SDSO Lt. Juan Marquez said. "He was immediately escorted to the facility's medical clinic for evaluation."
Paramedics responded and took the inmate to a nearby hospital. "While en route, the man went into medical distress, prompting paramedics to initiate lifesaving measures,'' Marquez said. "Despite all efforts, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital at approximately 5:20 a.m."
The inmate had been in sheriff's custody since April 22, 2024 and was facing charges related to possession of an illegal weapon, according to deputies.
His identity was being withheld until his family can be notified.
"The San Diego County Sheriff's Office extends its condolences to his family and all those affected by his passing," Marquez said. "A Sheriff's Family Liaison Officer has been assigned to support the family during this difficult time."
The Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board has been notified about the death. As is the protocol for all in-custody deaths, the sheriff's Homicide Unit is conducting an investigation The cause and manner of death will be determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
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 office 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.
In the most recent death before Sunday's, deputies found 34-year-old Grant Parker hanging inside his assigned cell on March 8 at the downtown jail.
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