TURTLECREEK TOWNSHIP, Ohio − Two area prison employees are on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into the death of an inmate.
A corrections officer at Lebanon Correctional Institute was put on leave effective Thursday amid a use-of-force investigation, state records show. The second employee on leave is a nurse.
LaSelle Allen, 38, of Toledo, was pronounced dead around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, according to Warren County Coroner Dr. Russell Uptegrove.
Allen’s autopsy did not determine an obvious cause of death, so that is now pending further tests, including toxicology, Uptegrove said.
He said the prison reported to his office that Allen was involved in an assault at the facility, “when he got into an altercation with another inmate,” and then Allen was “maced” (pepper-sprayed) by prison staff.
“There is no significant trauma or disease that would explain his death right now,” the coroner said Monday. “He has some bruises and scrapes, and he was in an altercation, but there are no lethal-type injuries.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating.
FOX19 NOW reached out to a union representative for the prison employees and is awaiting a response.
A highway patrol spokesman said the incident report and the initial findings of their investigation won’t be available until Allen’s autopsy is complete.
Allen was scheduled to be released from prison on Jan. 6, state records show.
He was at Lebanon Correctional serving a 1.5-year sentence for convictions in Lucas County on charges of aggravated assault and attempted discharge of a firearm at or near habitation/school, according to ODRC‘s website.
His funeral will be held Dec. 19 at House of Day Funeral Home in Toledo.
Enquirer media partner Fox19 provided this report
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Prison employees put on leave after inmate death in Warren County
Reporting by Jennifer Edwards Baker, Fox19 / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
