*The Cleveland woman who was found dead in her jail cell was captured on body camera video hours earlier telling prison officers she fears for her life in custody.
Ralkina Jones, 37, was discussing her medical needs with Cleveland Heights jail officers in a video filmed roughly 15 hours before they discovered her dead last month, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported.
“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,” Jones said, pointing at the room where she was later found dead.
Watch below:
Jones’ initial autopsy revealed “no suspicious injuries,” and Cuyahoga County medical examiners are still investigating her exact cause of death, police said. But Jones’ family wants answers after officers found her unresponsive on July 26.
Per the New York Daily News:
Jones was charged with assault, domestic violence and child endangerment after a fight with her husband two days earlier, cops said.
She told officers in the video she needs to take pills such as a generic version of the anxiety medication Xanax, the anti-epileptic drug Gabapentin and the ADHD drug Adderall. She suffers from migraines and concussions to her brain, she said. And her postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is “my main concern,” she told the cops.
“What happens is, when I go from a sitting to a standing position, I faint,” she said.
The officers noted her prescriptions and one told her they were holding her in a nearby cell to ensure her well-being, rather than keeping her in a female cell elsewhere at the jail.
Around two hours later, paramedics checked Jones’ vitals again and found them normal, police said. Officers checked her regularly throughout the night, but she was discovered unconscious just after 7:30 the next morning. Cleveland Heights Fire Department paramedics pronounced her dead at the jail, police said.
Jones’ family had seen her in good health the day before, and her sisters viewed the jail footage of her with a reporter from WKYC-TV on Tuesday.
“Someone’s going to answer to it. If not, everyone’s going to answer to it, because you can’t just do this,” one of her sisters told the TV station.
The Cleveland Heights Police Department will release a video later this week of officers finding Jones unconscious in her cell, the TV station reported.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
