A 40-year-old woman died after she was found unresponsive in her cell at the Jefferson County Jail on Friday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
Courtney Tinker was found unresponsive in her cell at 5:35 a.m. when a deputy came to check on her because she didn’t come out for breakfast, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The deputy began CPR and jail medical staff and paramedics were also called and provided life-saving measures.
Tinker was pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m.
She was arrested Monday on warrants for failing to appear in court after deputies found her slumped over the wheel of a vehicle, sheriff’s officials said.
Tinker told the deputies arresting her she was having trouble breathing, and she was treated by paramedics and then taken to a hospital and medically cleared, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
She was on a detox protocol at the jail, which happens when inmates tell staff they are coming off of alcohol, benzodiazepines or opiates during jail intake, said spokesperson Jacki Kelley.
Inmates on a detox protocol are checked on three times a day, have their symptoms assessed and are treated depending on what they need, Kelley said.
Information on when Tinker was last checked on was not immediately available but will be part of the investigation into her death, Kelley said.
The 1st Judicial District Law Enforcement Critical Response Team is investigating Tinker’s death.
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