An inmate who hung himself in his cell at the Harford County Detention Center earlier this month has died, Sheriff Jesse Bane told The Dagger Monday.
Bane confirmed the death of Christopher Booth, 45, of Edgewood, but did not specify when he died. Booth’s death is at least the eighth at the detention center since May 2008, and the third suicide.
Booth was found hanging in his cell on Nov. 2 at approximately 9:25 p.m., according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Christopher Swain. Booth was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and remained there through the weekend, during which time a court order released him from the custody of the Sheriff’s Office.
Reports began circulating on Nov. 5 that Booth had died; Swain at the time declined to confirm those reports, citing concerns of the family’s privacy and the fact that Booth was no longer in the agency’s custody.
Booth was incarcerated Nov. 1 on a bench warrant for second degree assault stemming from an Oct. 25 incident. He was also cited multiple times for failing to comply with a protective order during the last week of October. According to court records, Booth has a criminal record including several incidents of assault, a drunk driving charge, and other infractions.
Swain said Booth was housed in one of the facility’s Direct Supervision Units in a cell by himself. Booth was not under watch at the time of the incident, and “had been seen to be okay” by a corrections officer approximately 15 minutes before he was found hanging in his cell.
The timing of the release of this information is suspicious – very similar to the Mark Forwood timing during the election.
@R.H.
You make a great point there. I wonder how much else Jesse has failed to disclose or is simply lying about?
Bane is as transparent as Obama. He has shown a pattern of hiding behind false information. Thank you Mr. Gahler for keeping him honest. Bane would have never told the citizens about this without being forced to.
It is my understanding that Booth was brain dead and on life support when he was released from custody! It then fell to his family to make the decision to trun off the life support equipment! Strange when you know the details!!!
Capt Swain, he was in custody whent the hanging took place. I think this was more then a concern for the families privacy. I don’t recall in the past not releasing information because of privacy worries.
I was very pleased when I heard that Ed Hopkins was going to be the new PIO for the HCSO. He is a very capable individual and understands the inner workings of the HCSO as well as anyone. However, after giving his selection some thought, I just don’t see how Eddie will be able to maintain his integrity and do the job the way Sheriff Bane wants his PIO to operate. Eddie is an upstanding man, hopefully he will resist the kind of misspeak that Sheriff Bane practices.
There have been complaints about the process of watching prisoners at this level. Officers were transferred and one lost their job the last time this happen despite complaints. It was impossible to do what was required with out fudging the manpower and times. A full investigation by an outside, unaffiliated organization is necessary.
Anyone know who is investigating these jailhouse deaths? An outside agency should handle this so Bane has no influence over those conducting it.
No one is investigating.