TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Four Polk County detention deputies resigned and three supervisors were suspended after it was discovered an inmate believed to be sleeping was actually dead.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the detention deputies “neglected their duties” when they were responsible for routine checks on an inmate, Essie Ward, who was housed in the jail’s mental health facility when she died in April.
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“They indicated that she was sleeping on multiple occasions, when, the investigation later determined, she was deceased,” a statement from PCSO said.
The detention deputies resigned before they could be fired. Three supervisors were suspended without pay for three weeks “for failing to ensure compliance of our general orders through proper supervision.”…