CLEVELAND — A 36-year-old inmate at Cuyahoga County Jail, later identified as Nicholas Colbert, died Friday afternoon, a county official confirmed.
Colbert was booked into the jail on Wednesday afternoon on drug possession charges, according to county spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan.
On Friday morning, Colbert was approved for transfer to the veteran’s pod, which is designated for those who have served in the armed forces. He was moved there at 11 a.m., Madigan said.
At 2:28 p.m. Friday, a corrections officer found Colbert unresponsive in his cell, Madigan said. EMS was called, and Colbert was taken to MetroHealth. The county was notified at 3:05 p.m. that Colbert had died.
County officials are unsure how he died at this time and are awaiting the results of an autopsy.
Madigan confirmed Colbert received the required medical intake screen when he arrived at jail.
A total of eight county jail inmates died in 2018.
The Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail is hosting a protest on May 23 about the deaths at the jail.
"It’s time for Clevelanders to raise a visible and dramatic outcry to protest the continued foot-dragging by those who run the criminal justice system here.” said LaTonya Goldsby, member of the Jail Coalition and co-lead for Black Lives Matter Cleveland.
