Man dies after ‘cell check’ at Tarrant County jail, sheriff’s office says

A man who “became unresponsive” after a fight with Tarrant County jail detention officers during a “routine cell check” Sunday morning has died, the sheriff’s office announced.

Just before 9 a.m., jail officers were checking for contraband at the jail when the incarcerated person, identified as a 31-year-old male, refused to get out of his cell and allow the area to be searched, the sheriff’s office said in a Sunday news release. The sheriff’s office said the death in custody “resulted from a medical emergency.”

A fight ensured and officers used oleoresin capsicum spray, or pepper spray, “to assist in bringing the inmate under control,” the sheriff’s office said.

“[Jail] medical staff was on scene to examine the inmate after the incident, which is standard procedure when inmates are involved in fights or sprayed with OC spray,” the sheriff’s office added.

While medical staff was examining the man, he “became unresponsive,” according to the sheriff’s office. Jail staff tried to perform life-saving measures and the man was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m., the sheriff’s office said. A detention officer was also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The man was arrested by Saginaw officers Friday and was accused of “wielding a knife at a driver” while standing in the roadway, the sheriff’s office said in the release. He was arrested after trying to run from officers and was facing multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance and evading arrest/detention.

He had been at Tarrant County jail since Saturday, the sheriff’s office said. The Texas Rangers will investigate the in-custody death.

The death comes just days after the sheriff’s office announced a man — later identified by the county medical examiner as 41-year-old Roderick Johnson— found unresponsive in his cell early Thursday had died.