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Sheriff Reacts to Independent Investigation into Recent Inmate Death

BEND, OR -- The Oregon Department of Justice is looking into whether the Deschutes County Sheriff's Department did anything wrong when an inmate died in its custody last December.

 

31-year old Edwin Mays died of a methamphetamine overdose.  But release of the jail video of that night raises questions whether deputies did all they could to prevent his death.  Sheriff Larry Blanton says this is a difficult time for the department.  "First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the Mays family.  Not a good time for the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.  I can think of a lot of time personally and professionally I wish I could have a do over a mulligan, coulda woulda, shoulda."

 

"You know we're not perfect.  We'll learn from this experience and move on.  We deal with difficult situations.  We have a difficult job.  We're analyzing and assessing in split seconds what we do for a living," Blanton told KBND News.

 

Mays died in Deschutes County custody December 14th after being arrested for heroin possession.

 

 

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