Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department personnel are investigating the death of an inmate at the jail on Thursday.  

According to a department press release, on Thursday at approximately 9:20 pm, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Deputies responded to an apparent suicide by hanging in the Delta 2 Unit Shower involving a male inmate at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center.

Corrections Deputies immediately brought down the inmate and began life saving measures including CPR. The inmate, later identified as Michael James Dodd, was transported to Erlanger East for advanced medical treatment. However, the inmate succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

The body was transported to the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause and manner of death.

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp has directed the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the circumstances of the apparent suicide and report their findings once the investigation is concluded.

According to the press release, the HCSO has had two in-custody deaths since January 1, 2023. The first in-custody death, an apparent overdose, involved Jedediah Srofe, and occurred on October 14, 2023. This incident is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The second, occurred last night at the jail, an apparent suicide by hanging.

In addition to the two in-custody deaths noted above, the HCSO did have one inmate, Gregory Leverette, who succumbed to his injuries after being released from HCSO custody after he was involved in an inmate-on-inmate assault on September 26. This incident was also referred to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) at the direction of District Attorney Wamp.