OGDEN, Utah July 25, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Weber County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday reported an inmate death in the county jail over the weekend.
“On July 21, at approximately 5:45 p.m. an individual in the custody of the Weber County Jail was found unresponsive in their cell,” the Weber County Sheriff said in a statement Tuesday on social media.
The death is currently under investigation and will be handled following the Weber County Critical Incident Protocol headed by the Weber County Attorney’s Office, the sheriff said.
“Initial investigation shows that the individual suffered from a medical episode that was not self-inflicted.
“No further details will be released at this time.”
Initial reports of the death circulated the day it occurred, unconfirmed until now. This is the second this year at the Weber jail, following a death on April 29 and reportedly the fourth since 2021. The Davis County Jail had an inmate death on April 21 of this year.
County jails in Utah as a state drew scrutiny in 2014 and 2016 from civil rights groups and lawmakers after the state had some of the highest rates of inmate deaths in the nation when 20 or more inmates succumbed.
