POLK COUNTY, Ga. - A 42-year-old man died after jail staff discovered him unconscious inside his cell at the Polk County Jail. The state has been called in to run a full investigation into the incident.
What we know:
Jail officers and onsite medical staff found Kirk Douglas Owens, 42, unresponsive inside his assigned cell on Monday evening.
Owens, a resident of Cedartown, was being held at the facility on charges of public drunkenness and a probation violation.
Personnel immediately began performing CPR and utilizing other lifesaving measures while waiting for an emergency response team. Paramedics rushed Owens to Atrium Health Polk Medical Center, where he later died.
What's next:
Independent state authorities review local lockup operations whenever someone dies inside a county facility to ensure full public transparency.
Following standard operating procedures for any in-custody death, the local agency requested an outside review. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation immediately responded to the jail to assume control of the active case.
What we don't know:
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact cause of death or detailed what specific medical ailment caused Owens to become unresponsive in his cell. It is also unclear how long the inmate had been held inside the facility before guards found him.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.