Local and state authorities are investigating the death of a Biddeford man at the Cumberland County Jail on Wednesday.
A corrections officer doing rounds in the medical unit found 62-year-old Richard Putze unresponsive in his cell around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday. Life-saving efforts by the corrections officer and Portland MEDCU were unsuccessful, Capt. John Costello said in a statement.
Putze died 12 hours after he had been discharged from a hospital following a medical procedure, Costello said.
His death is being investigated by Portland police, Maine Department of Corrections and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which will determine the cause and manner of death.
Sheriff Kevin Joyce said Putze came to the county jail on a probation violation on Nov. 1 and was placed in the jail’s medical unit under the care of the jail’s medical provider.
Joyce said that Putze was taken to a hospital for a medical procedure early Tuesday. Jail officials did not elaborate on the nature of the procedure. Putze was transferred from the hospital to the jail’s medical unit about 12 hours later, Joyce said.
Authorities have investigated several other deaths in county jails this year, including three in Cumberland County. Last week, a Buxton man died at a hospital after experiencing a medical emergency in the York County Jail.
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