A Summit County Jail inmate who died Tuesday morning complained of chest pains twice in 12 hours before he was found unresponsive in his cell.
A nurse checked Antonio Daniel’s vital signs both times he complained, and each time reported nothing unusual, according to an initial report compiled by the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office. The second time — about three hours before Daniel, 39, was found unresponsive — he refused to take his medication and breakfast.
The medical report indicated Daniel, of North Hawkins Street, had been undergoing dialysis prior to his arrest for contempt of court on Sunday. Chest pains are a symptom of renal failure, doctors said. An autopsy was performed Wednesday, but a report was not immediately available.
Summit County Sheriff’s Inspector Bill Holland said foul play does not appear to be a factor in Daniel’s death.
“We’re conducting an investigation into this to make sure there’s not another inmate involved and that protocol was followed,” he said. “At this time, it appears that no one else was involved and all our jail protocols were followed by our staff.”
Holland declined to say whether the jail knew Daniel was undergoing dialysis.
According to police reports, the trail to Daniel’s death began on Valentine’s Day, when he was charged with misdemeanor theft and disorderly conduct after allegedly refusing to pay a $65 cab fare. Police said Daniel became “verbally abusive and said that he would fight with officers” who responded to the scene.
According to court records, he did not attend a Feb. 24 pretrial hearing, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
When he was apprehended on Sunday, he was booked into the jail and held in contempt of court.
At about 9 p.m. Monday, he complained of chest pain for the first time. He complained again at 6 a.m. the next morning.
Daniel was found unresponsive in his cell at about 9:20 a.m., and medical workers attempted to resuscitate him before transporting him to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center.
Doctors at Akron General pronounced Daniel dead at about 10:05 a.m.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.