Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating the circumstances of a Hamilton County Jail inmate’s death Friday.
Deshawn Brazell, 36, was discovered unresponsive around 3 a.m. during a welfare check, according to a Sheriff’s Office press release. Officers and medical personnel tried life-saving measures, including CPR, and notified Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services. Brazell was taken to a local medical facility, where he was declared dead.
(READ MORE: Nine Hamilton County jail inmates charged after group riot, stabbing caught on camera)
Brazell was booked into the Hamilton County Jail on July 12, one day after the Chattanooga Police Department arrested him on an outstanding warrant, according to an arrest report. The officer found Brazell walking along Lee Highway, confirmed the warrant with another officer and placed Brazell in the back seat of a patrol vehicle.
While in the vehicle, Brazell struck his head against a partition between the seats, the arrest report said. After reviewing the in-car footage, the officer believed the act was intentional. The officer wrote that he drove Brazell to a hospital for treatment. Brazell seemed highly agitated, the officer wrote.