The sheriff’s office said Black was booked into the jail at about 6 a.m. Sunday after he was arrested by Englewood police.
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. Black then allegedly jumped a fence and swam across a pond to flee from officers. Emergency crews took him to a local hospital for treatment, then to the jail, the release said.
At about 1:50 a.m. Monday, staff at the jail went to check on Black and found him face down in his cell and not responding, so they 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.
Jail staff used force, including a Taser, to subdue Black, the sheriff’s office said, and he was put in a cell by himself for monitoring after receiving treatment from jail medical staff.
The sheriff’s office said that at about 9:25 a.m., “Black started forcefully and repeatedly striking his head on his cell door.”
Jail staff again went in to subdue Black and a fight ensued, with staff using pepper spray and a Taser before they handcuffed him and put him in an emergency restraint chair, according to the sheriff’s office.
From there, the sheriff’s office said, jail staff began to treat him, and Dayton medics were requested to take him to the hospital.
While they waited, the sheriff’s office said that Black’s condition deteriorated and he went into full arrest. He was removed from the chair and staff performed CPR and administered oxygen, unnamed medicines and a defibrillator before Dayton medics arrived.
The medics took him to the hospital, where he was declared dead two days later, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office said that they asked Dayton police detectives to investigate the incident since Black died following fights with jail staff. They said they also notified the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention, and the sheriff’s office’s Inspectional Service Unit will review the incident internally after the Dayton investigation.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is investigating as well to determine the cause of Black’s death.
On Friday, Michael Wright and Robert Gresham of law office Wright & Schulte said that Black’s family had hired the firm to get answers surrounding his death.
“We are conducting our own independent investigation into how Mr. Black died and who may ultimately be responsible. Mr. Black’s family is deeply concerned given the well-documented issues that have plagued the Montgomery County Jail previously. We will leave no stone unturned in our quest to find out what led to Christian Black’s death,” they said in a statement.
Jail deaths
Earlier this month, the family of 19-year-old Isaiah Trammell, who died while in custody at the Montgomery County Jail in 2023, sued Montgomery County, jail medical care provider Naphcare and several jail corrections and medical workers for wrongful death, saying Trammell was denied necessary medical treatment.
A Dayton Daily News analysis of 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. The Dayton Daily News investigated what was causing this rash of fatalities, and what county officials were doing about it.
Seven Montgomery County inmate deaths were reported in 2023 from January through July, and in December 2023, a man died after being transferred from the jail to the hospital.
Montgomery County is working toward a large-scale renovation of the jail, with plans to finalize the design by May and begin construction in July. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2027.
