Guard suspended without pay in SC inmate’s death

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An employee at the Richland County jail has been placed on leave without pay as deputies investigate the death of an inmate.

Authorities say the employee put 58-year-old Matthew Green in a headlock earlier this month as he was being booked on a public intoxication charge.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts says Green’s spinal cord was damaged and he lost consciousness shortly after the incident, dying eight days later.

Surveillance cameras taped the incident, but don’t have sound so it is not known what led to the headlock. County officials say the headlock was not an approved method of restraint.

Deputies did not release the guard’s name. They will turn their investigation over to prosecutors, who will decide if the guard should face charges.