Ralkina Jones told police before her death in jail: 'I don't want to die in your cell'
theGRIO REPORT - A Cleveland woman who was found dead in her jail cell had earlier spoken with officers about her medical needs and told police that she was scared for her life...
A Cleveland woman who was found dead in her jail cell had earlier spoken with officers about her medical needs and told police that she was scared for her life.
“I’m not asking for any exception to any rules, but I will tell you this: I don’t want to die in your cell,” said Ralkina Jones in a video taken just 15 hours before she died. According to the Daily News, she calmly discussed her medical needs, including the anxiety medication Xanax, the anti-epileptic drug Gabapentin and the ADHD drug Adderall.
Calling postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome her “main concern,” Jones explained, “What happens is, when I go from a sitting to a standing position, I faint.”
The officer noted down her prescriptions and then told her that they were holding her in a nearby cell rather than another female cell so that they could be sure of her well-being. The officer also advised Jones, who had been arrested following a dispute with her husband, to speak with a victim’s advocate “even though you’re arrested in this case,” and another officer promised she would not be yelled at for taking her medication.
— Cleveland Hts Police (@clvhtspolice) July 27, 2015
Later on in the day, jail officials arranged for her to be examined at a hospital when she looked “lethargic,” and even after the hospital released her, they checked on her regularly throughout the night, measuring her vitals.
And yet she was still discovered unconscious the next morning and later pronounced dead.
Jones’ death is still being investigated.
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