Coroner: Black man in SC jail likely died of cardiac event

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – A coroner says that a mentally ill Black man who died after an encounter with deputies in a South Carolina jail earlier this year likely died of a cardiac event.

Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal told reporters that Jamal Sutherland likely died of a fatal dysrhythmia, or an abnormal heart rhythm, after sheriff’s deputies attempted to take him out of his jail cell in January. O’Neal changed the manner of death for Sutherland from “undetermined” to “homicide” on his death certificate earlier this month.

Video released by Charleston County officials last month showed deputies repeatedly deployed stun guns and knelt on Jamal Sutherland’s back before he stopped moving.

Officials said that an hour later, Sutherland was pronounced dead.

The prosecutor on the case still hasn’t said whether she’ll pursue charges for the two deputies involved.