Tarrant County Jail inmate found hanged in his cell dies in Fort Worth hospital, officials say

According to the sheriff's office, an inmate at the Tarrant County Jail died Thursday at John Peter Smith Hospital after hanging himself in his cell earlier in the week.

Tarrant County Detention Center officers found the inmate hanging in his cell shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday. Officers cut him down and immediately began life-saving measures to revive him, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. The man was taken to JPS Hospital and placed on life support, but died two days later.

The inmate was housed in a regular cell and during his time in custody he also had access to and was in contact with My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, the press release states.

Prison guards check inmates every 40 minutes. Initial investigations indicate that the prisoner intended to harm himself between these 40-minute checks, the press release said.

The last check was at 5:37 p.m., and surveillance video showed the inmate opening his cell door and giving something to another prisoner at 5:52 p.m. He was found hanging at 6:02 p.m., officials said.

The inmate's name and cause of death have not yet been released on the Tarrant County Coroner's website. According to the press release, he was arrested by Fort Worth police on Nov. 21 and charged with evading arrest, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with or fabricating evidence.

According to the sheriff's office, at least seven agencies review and investigate all in-custody deaths. These include Tarrant County Sheriff's Office jail staff, TCSO Criminal Investigation Division, Texas Commission on Jail Standards, an outside law enforcement agency, JPS medical staff, Tarrant County Coroner's Office and the Texas Attorney General's Office.

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