Essex County jail inmate’s death under investigation, officials say – NJ.com

A 48-year-old man who was an inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility died Wednesday after he exhibited symptoms consistent with a urinary infection, a county spokesman said.

The man was placed in the jail’s infirmary on April 4 after complaining of symptoms that were not consistent with the coronavirus, said Essex County spokesman Anthony Puglisi.

The inmate was treated on-site by medical staff and remained under observation. An ambulance was called 11:45 a.m. on April 4 when his condition deteriorated but a medical response team within the jail provided first aid until the man was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m. by the facility’s medical director, the county said in a statement.

The inmate, whose name was not made public, had been at the jail since July 17. The county spokesman declined to say why exactly the man was jailed.

“The Essex County Medical examiner has been contacted and will investigate further,” Puglisi said in a statement. “The cause of death is undetermined at this time.”

Puglisi told NJ Advance Media the man was not a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee.

The federal government contracts with Essex County to hold those suspected of being undocumented immigrants, and there has been growing outcry to release ICE detainees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inmates and corrections officers across New Jersey have said there is little protection against the spread of COVID-19 in jails. Those serving time on probation sentences or municipal court convictions, meanwhile, were ordered released from jail last month.

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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @BeccaPanico.