Investigation launched after man dies in San Diego jail while still in holding cell
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Authorities have released more information on the man who died in a San Diego jail, who was still in a holding cell and booked for public intoxication just two days prior.
Eugene Rodman Smith, 55, of San Diego, died at a San Diego area hospital on Oct. 2 after deputies found him unresponsive inside a holding cell where he was alone, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office said in an update on Monday.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies began life-saving measures when they found Smith unresponsive around 11:55 p.m. on Oct. 1. Paramedics with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department continued to perform life-saving measures and took him to the hospital, where he died around 1:15 a.m. on Oct. 2.
Smith was arrested on Sept. 29 for public intoxication and was still in a holding cell just two days after his arrest when he was found unresponsive.
The cause and manner of his death will be determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.
A Sheriff's Family Liaison Officer is available to support the family, and the sheriff's office said in a statement, "the San Diego Sheriff's Office extends our sympathies to the Smith family and all those affected by his passing."
The Citizens' Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) was notified, and the Sheriff's Homicide Unit will investigate the in-custody death as is protocol, according to the sheriff's office.
