An inmate died Friday night at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove, the fourth death of a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office inmate in the past two months.
Around 11:15 p.m., officers were alerted to a 41-year-old male inmate who needed assistance, according to spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi of the Sheriff’s Office. Officers located the unresponsive inmate, pulled him from the cell and administered first aid. Cosumnes Community Service District Fire Department personnel later arrived and continued lifesaving efforts, but the inmate was pronounced dead.
The man was arrested on March 28 by Sacramento Police officers on a misdemeanor charge.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office is investigating the death and will release the man’s name after family members are notified.
The man was the fourth inmate to die in the past eight weeks while in the custody of the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office. The three other inmate deaths occurred on May 5, May 12 and June 8 at the downtown Main Jail, according to the Sheriff’s Office and previous Bee reporting.
Understaffing was cited in reports last year as a factor in inmate deaths. As a result of the low staffing levels, Sacramento County is in violation of a 2019 federal class action settlement that requires the jail to improve medical and mental health care for inmates.
With the latest death, a total of 29 inmates have died at the Sacramento State Prison since the beginning of 2021.
