By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – There has been another suicide at the Erie County Holding Center in downtown Buffalo. This is the third suicide of the year at the County jail.
Erie County Undersheriff Mark Wipperman said the death of an inmate occurred Saturday afternoon. Sheriff deputies discovered a 26 year old male from Buffalo hanging from the bars of his jail cell.
The inmate was cut down by deputies, who performed CPR on him, prior to him being transferred to Buffalo General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy on the inmate will be conducted Monday morning by the Erie County Medical Examiner.
The inmate was brought into the Holding Center on July 28, 2010 on charges of violation of a probation warrant; criminal contempt; and criminal mischief.
In reporting this latest suicide, the Sheriff's department is following orders of an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.
A lawsuit was filed by the federal government following a rash of recent suicides and claims of mistreatment and poor conditions within the County jail. But a recent agreement changed suicide procedures and prevention methods that the Sheriff's Department must now be followed
In June, U.S. District Court Judge William Skretny approved a jail agreement reached between the Justice Department and Erie County. It calls for jail staff at the Holding Center to undergo annual training in suicide prevention. The deal also requires the County to make improvements to the physical structure inside the jail. But the agreement did not end the lawsuit.