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Inmate dead following attack inside the Cuyahoga County Jail

The inmate has been identified as 48-year-old Shane Trawick.

CLEVELAND — An investigation is underway after an attack inside the Cuyahoga County Jail led to the death of an inmate on Monday.

According to Cuyahoga County spokesman Dale Armbruster, there was a "physical altercation" involving two inmates inside the facility. 

Investigators from the Cleveland Division of Police say that a corrections officer was alerted by inmates yelling for help. The corrections officer requested her supervisor who responded and requested medical help for one of the inmates, 48-year-old Shane Trawick.

Trawick was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m.  

Shane Trawick's death is currently under investigation by the County Coroner’s Office and the Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit.

Monday's fatal attack is another chapter in a recent string of incidents inside the Cuyahoga County Jail. 

Last month, two inmates were released by mistake from the facility.

The facility has found itself at the center of a massive scandal involving alleged corruption and mistreatment of inmates going back to 2018. A scathing report from the U.S. Marshals service was followed by a failed state inspection, and numerous lawsuits have been filed accusing operators of denying inmates medical assistance, forcing inmates to sleep on the floor, and even serving food with bugs in it.

Most recently, transgender inmate Lea Rayshon Daye was found dead inside the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Last week, Cuyahoga County Sheriff David Schilling Jr. announced his retirement after just 15 months on the job. Schilling is retiring effective December 31, 2020, but is taking medical/family medical leave that began last week.

Since July 2019,  Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections had conducted monthly oversight inspections of the jail. Those inspections ended less than a month ago.

This is a developing story. Stay with 3News for more details as they become available. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Editor's Note: The below story aired in June of 2020.

    

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