They Give This to All Inmates - But One Died After He Started Guzzling It, Sheriff's Office Says
An inmate who was being housed at a San Francisco Bay-area jail died last week after he consumed excessive amounts of water from a sink in his cell, according to reports.
KTVU reported the 26-year-old man, whose name is being withheld as authorities attempt to contact his next of kin in Mexico, was booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, on March 28.
He told jailers when he was booked he had taken drugs a day before.
On April 27, the man was taken to a medical unit just after 10:30 a.m. after he had vomited.
Lt. Ty Modeste with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, said in a statement obtained by KTVU the man had previously been seen drinking a “profuse amount of water” from the sink in his cell.
A deputy went to the medical unit to check on the inmate about five hours later, but he was not responsive.
At 4:05 p.m. the man was pronounced dead.
The sheriff’s office has not announced if the man had any medical conditions or offered any additional information in regard to the circumstances surrounding the mysterious death.
Modeste said jailers had no reason to believe anything was wrong with the man prior to him becoming sick.
“[D]espite his admitted drug use, there was no cause for concern found during the medical and mental health intake process,” Modeste told reporters.
The lieutenant did say the man, who was arrested on unspecified charges, had a history of violent behavior toward the jail’s staff.
The man was the fifth person to die in the Santa Rita Jail this calendar year and the 67th overall since 2014.
Local advocates for criminal justice system reform are calling for changes at the jail, KTVU reported.
One inmate who had been in contact with the group Destination Freedom referred to the Santa Rita Jail as the “Santa Rita Death Camp.”
In the absence of details surrounding the cause of the inmate’s death, people across social media have speculated he died from fatal water intoxication.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the condition can be fatal and occurs when excessive water consumption “provokes disturbances in electrolyte balance, resulting in a rapid decrease in serum sodium concentration and eventual death.”
Symptoms of the condition include confusion, disorientation, nausea and vomiting.
It is not clear if the inmate suffered from fatal water intoxication.
The sheriff’s department has not said when the results of an autopsy are expected to be released.
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