Inmate Dies
BANNING (CNS) – An investigation was underway Friday into the death of a 24-year-old inmate at the Banning Justice Center, where he and another detainee were fighting before correctional deputies deployed chemical agents to separate them.
James Hirt of Norco died shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday in Housing Unit 16, Dayroom F, cell No. 85 of the Banning jail, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Sgt. Jarred Bishop said that deputies were alerted to an altercation at the location and encountered Hirt and another man, whose identity was not disclosed, throwing punches.
Bishop said that jail personnel “deployed oleoresin capsicum — commonly referred to as pepper spray — into the cell to stop the inmates from fighting.”
The men desisted and were then removed from their cell, after which Hirt “became unresponsive,” the sergeant said.
Deputies and jail medical staff initiated life-saving measures in an attempt to resuscitate the young man, and county fire paramedics arrived minutes later to continue the effort, but they were unsuccessful. Hirt was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Bishop.
The investigation was turned over to the sheriff’s Force Investigations Detail because there had been physical intervention to stop the fight.
Jail records show Hirt was being held without bail and was due for a mental health competency hearing on Monday. There was no indication regarding for what he was originally booked into the correctional system in November.
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