Man, 31, dies in holding cell in downtown San Diego jail

A 31-year-old man died Thursday after he was found slumped over a partition wall in a holding cell in the downtown San Diego jail, sheriff ’s officials said.

The man, whose name has not been released pending notification of his family, is the ninth person to die in local jail custody this year.

Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, deputies spotted the unresponsive man slumped over the wall near a toilet in a holding cell on the second floor of the Central Jail, sheriff’s homicide Lt. Chris Steffen said. The department’s homicide unit investigates all in-custody deaths.

The man, who had been arrested Wednesday, was alone in the cell when he was found, he said.

Deputies and medical staffers administered naloxone to the man, which can counter the effects of a possible opioid overdose. They also performed life-saving measures, Steffen said, but the man died at the scene just before 6:30 p.m.

The man’s cause and manner of death are under investigation. His autopsy was set to be done Friday.

Last year, 18 San Diego County jail inmates died in custody — a record high.

Earlier this year, the state auditor issued a sharply critical report prompted by 185 deaths in the county jails over 15 years. The audit found the Sheriff’s Department failed to prevent and respond to the deaths, and called for the Legtify