Investigators: Death of Racine County Jail inmate ruled accidental overdose
RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Kenosha County Sheriff's Office announced the completion of its investigation into the death of Racine County Jail inmate Ronquale Ditello-Scott Jr.
An autopsy concluded that Ditello-Scott's cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity.
The Racine County medical examiner determined the manner of death was accidental.
A review of the body worn camera recordings showed while Ditello-Scott was in custody, deputies and correctional officers repeatedly asked Ditello-Scott if he was on any substances other than marijuana.
The sheriff's office says Ditello-Scott consistently stated he was not, and that he was just very tired because he had not slept in the past few days.
The lead Kenosha investigator reported that deputies did not use force at any point during Ditello-Scott's arrest. The investigator said Ditello-Scott did not request medical assistance for himself, and no other inmates requested medical assistance for him.
In a statement, Sheriff Schmaling said, "Every overdose death is a tragedy, and I am very concerned that there has been a 30% increase of overdose deaths, in a one-year-period, in the United States. The reports are, during this same time period, over 100,000 people nationally have died from overdoses. Therefore, I am calling on the Racine County Metro Drug Task Force to continue its ‘Len Bias’ investigation into Ronquale’s death so that all of the individuals who are responsible for illegally peddling this poison can be held accountable in a court of law.”
The sheriff's office says a "Len Bias" investigation is named after the overdose death of basketball star Len Bias in 1986. Following Bias' death, laws were passed that allowed for criminal prosecution against all individuals involved in the supply chain that led to the victim possessing the controlled substance that caused their death.