HOUSTON – A man in Harris County Jail custody died Wednesday after collapsing inside the Harris County Joint Processing Center, according to officials.
Karlos Butler, 49, was pronounced dead at 4:11 p.m. Aug. 5, at St. Joseph Hospital, authorities said.
Officials said Butler collapsed for unknown reasons at about 2:55 p.m. inside the processing center. He received medical attention at the facility before being transported by ambulance to the hospital.
Butler had been in custody since Aug. 4, when he was booked by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office at 12:55 p.m. on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, officials said. He had been in custody for two days.
The death was reported to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, according to officials.
The Houston Police Department is investigating. The sheriff’s office Internal Affairs Division is also conducting a review, which officials said is standard after a death in custody, to determine whether policies and procedures were followed.
An autopsy is pending, and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences will determine Butler’s cause of death.
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