Suspected overdose cluster at downtown L.A. jail leaves 1 dead, seven others hospitalized

One person died and seven others were hospitalized after a cluster of suspected overdoses at a downtown Los Angeles jail, authorities said Tuesday.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, just after 8:30 a.m. jail staff became aware of a medical emergency involving eight inmates in the Inmate Reception Center, where they were in a holding cell waiting to be taken to court.

A few minutes later, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call for reported overdoses. Fire officials originally said six people were taken to the hospital, though the Sheriff’s Department clarified that it was seven. All seven were conscious and breathing, the department said.

One person — a man in his 30s — died at the scene, according to fire officials. There were no reported staff injuries, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

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The official cause of death is still under investigation, but sheriff’s officials said Tuesday morning that it was a suspected drug overdose, although they did not specify what drug might have been involved.

In an emailed statement, the department said it “continually strives” to keep drugs from entering its jails by using drug dogs and mail scanners to detect illicit substances.

“We are optimistic that in the near future we [will] have the use of updated technological solutions, including body and property scanners, that will further assist us in minimizing the threat illegal narcotics pose to our inmate population,” the statement said.

Drugs and drug overdoses have been a persistent problem inside the jails.

In April, a sheriff’s deputy who was part of a task force focused on keeping Los Angeles County’s jails free of drugs and gang activity was arrested and accused of smuggling drugs into one of the county jails.

In June, six inmates and two jailers at another county jail were taken to the hospital after they were exposed to a “toxic substance.” Jail officials have since confirmed the substance was fentanyl, though it is not clear how the inmates and staff came into contact with it. Medical experts say fentanyl cannot be absorbed simply by touching it.

Not including Tuesday’s death, the department said, at least two inmates have died of suspected overdoses this year, and jail staff have used the overdose-reversing drug naloxone on at least 187 people. The department said all custody deputies carry at least one dose of the medication with them, and doses of it are affixed to the walls for inmates to use in some parts of the jail.

Last year, officials said, 12 inmates died of drug overdoses.

Officials said that all inmates who are treated for opioid overdoses while in custody are given the option to receive medication-assisted treatment while incarcerated.