CLEVELAND — The state agency in charge of reviewing in-custody deaths said it has reopened the review of a woman who died in Cuyahoga County custody last year.
The Bureau of Adult Detention initially found no concerns or areas of non-compliance by the county’s jail in the death of Jennifer Wade in February 2025.
But now a spokesperson said the county did not provide a jail inspector with body worn camera that was released last week to the media.
As News 5 Investigators reported that video showed it took jail staff more than 15 minutes to begin chest compressions after Wade was found unresponsive and naked on the floor of her cell in the jail’s mental health unit.
RELATED: Newly-released video again raises questions about jail's response in emergency
“She’s ice cold,” a corrections officer could be heard saying on the body camera recording.
On another recording, another corrections officer questioned how long Wade had been lying on the floor.
“I mean all day,” said an officer. “From dayshift to me.”
Wade was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
An autopsy found the 41-year-old died of heart failure.
A spokesperson for the state said the Bureau requested all videos, surveillance footage and photos related to the incident.
In a statement, the spokesperson said the inspector was provided surveillance video, which does not include audio.
"The Bureau has requested an on-site visit to the jail to review the body-worn camera footage recently released to the media,” said JoEllen Smith, Chief of Communications for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. “We will revisit the original critical incident review in light of this new information.”
A Cuyahoga County spokesperson said she had no comment on the state’s decision to reopen the review of Wade’s death.
She also had no comment when asked why the body camera video was not provided to the state.
According to Cuyahoga County records, Wade was booked into jail on Sept. 5, 2024, charged with harassment by an inmate stemming from an incident at Marymount Hospital nearly two months earlier.
Records show Wade bounced between mental health treatment, jail and hospitals because of “change in mental status and chest pains.”
Eric Jaeger, an EMS educator, paramedic, and emergency response expert, reviewed the body camera video.
Jaeger said jail staff did not give Wade the best chance of survival.
"If they were to give her a chance at surviving, it would have required very different actions than we see in the videos,” said Jaeger. “From a medical standard of care perspective, I would unfortunately say it was egregious and negligent care.”
He believes more work needs to be done to ensure jail staff are prepared to handle medical emergencies when they happen behind bars.
"This is not advanced-level healthcare,” said Jaeger. “This is basic healthcare that anybody's entitled to expect. It's difficult to understand why this standard can't be met.”
