LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Another Louisville Metro Corrections inmate has died, according to a news release, the second such death in less than a week.
The jail said Rickitta Smith, 34 was found unresponsive around 5 a.m. Friday by a corrections officer. At that point, medical staff and corrections officers began implementing lifesaving efforts and called Metro EMS.
The inmate was taken by ambulance to University Hospital and was pronounced dead at approximately 5:30 a.m.
The jail said the inmate was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on Dec. 1 on misdemeanor and felony drug charges.
It is the second such death of a Louisville Metro Corrections inmate in a matter of days. Authorities said a 59-year-old male inmate died under similar circumstances after having been found unresponsive in a housing unit at about 4:20 p.m. Monday.
Daniel Johnson, president of FOP Lodge 77, which represents the jails corrections officers said the deaths of the man and woman could be a result of the jails chronic staff shortage. He's said for months officers who work inside are overworked and underpaid.
"The trauma the stress and what you go through emotionally and to know that you're making 17 bucks an hour while somebody at a grocery store is making $22 an hour," said Johnson. "It doesn't take long before you find another career path."
That inmate, who has not yet been publicly identified, was also pronounced dead after being transported to UofL Hospital. The individual, whose gender has not been released, was booked into Metro Corrections on Nov. 9 for failure to comply with sex offender registration.
Louisville Metro Corrections Director Dwayne Clark tells WDRB News Metro Corrections Professional Standards Unit launched an internal investigation, which is standard procedure.
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