We’re also continuing to cover damage and power outages caused by strong storms that moved through the area on Sunday night.
If you have thoughts or feedback on this newsletter or other news tips, please let me know at Greg.Lynch@coxinc.com.
The newsletter should take about 3 minutes, 8 seconds to read.
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Inmate dies after fights with jail staff, ramming cell door; Investigation underway
An investigation is underway into the death of a Montgomery County Jail inmate after two struggles with jail staff and he reportedly rammed his head into a cell door.
• The inmate: Christian Black, 25, of Zanesville, was booked into the jail at about 6 a.m. last Sunday. Police said that at about 3 a.m. he allegedly crashed a vehicle on Interstate 70 that had been stolen during a robbery in Beavercreek.
• Altercation at the jail: Jail staff found Black face down in his cell and not responding and called medical staff. When the door was opened, the sheriff’s office said that Black leapt up and started to fight corrections officers and deputies while trying to get out an exit door.
• Use of force: Jail staff used force on two occasions with a Taser and pepper spray to subdue Black. Eventually he was handcuffed and put in an emergency restraint chair.
• Self harm: After being treated by jail medical staff, Black was put in a cell by himself for monitoring. The sheriff’s office said that “Black started forcefully and repeatedly striking his head on his cell door.”
• Medics requested: While being treated by jail staff, Black’s condition worsened. Dayton medics were requested to take him to the hospital. While they waited, he went into full arrest. and staff performed CPR, administering oxygen and other unnamed medicines as well as a defibrillator before Dayton medics arrived.
• Transferred to hospital: Medics took Black to the hospital, where he was declared dead two days later.
Family of autistic teen who died in jail custody sues Montgomery County, jail medical provider
The family of a 19-year-old man with autism who died while incarcerated at the Montgomery County Jail in 2023 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the jail’s medical provider — Naphcare, Inc. — and Montgomery County, saying he was denied necessary medical treatment.
• Isaiah Trammell: Trammell was brought to the jail on a warrant in 2023. Trammell was arrested by Lebanon Police Department officers after a neighbor called in reporting a possible domestic violence incident at Trammell’s apartment. Trammell was alone at the time of the report, talking to his uncle on the phone.
• Video: Security footage from the jail shows him striking his head multiple times while in custody and being put into a restraint chair. He pleaded for medication before falling unconscious and later dying at an area hospital.
• State review: The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections found no “deficiencies” in how the sheriff’s office handled the fatality.
• Lawsuit: Trammell’s family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit alleges that Naphcare staff and corrections officers acted “negligently, recklessly, wantonly, willfully, knowingly, intentionally and with deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of Isaiah.”
What they’re saying: “Every member of Isaiah’s family has suffered an irreplaceable loss of joy and companionship, as well as their own mental anguish, loss of services, loss of society, loss of companionship, loss of care and assistance, and loss of any chance of inheritance from him,” the lawsuit states.
Montgomery County Jail plans
• Fatalities: State data in 2023 showed more people died after coming into custody at the Montgomery County jail that year than any other jail in Ohio.
• State standards: A state review of inmate deaths at the Montgomery County Jail found the facility operated in violation of state standards related to security observation checks, pre-screening and detoxication policies.
• Watchdog group: The Montgomery County Jail Coalition submitted a 300-signature petition to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction last year, calling for a comprehensive, state-led review of deaths at the county’s jail facility last year.