Woman dies in custody at Redwood City jail

By Carlos E. Castañeda

A 31-year-old woman died while in custody at a Redwood City jail on Monday, authorities said.

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that guards at the Maple Street Correctional Center were notified at about 6 a.m. that an inmate was having what appeared to be a medical emergency in a housing unit at the facility. The facility houses pre-trial and court-sentenced female and male inmates, and also includes a transitional housing unit for minimum-security inmates.

The unit the woman was housed in received a routine safety check a short time prior to her being discovered in distress, the Sheriff’s Office said. Jail personnel began lifesaving measures on the woman until medical staff stationed inside the facility arrived, along with outside medics dispatched to the facility. 

Despite the efforts, medics pronounced the woman was pronounced dead at the jail. The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the Coroner’s Office, and the Sheriff’s Office investigations bureau were each notified of the death and responded to the jail according to protocol and each will conduct a separate investigation into the death. 

The Coroner’s Office withheld the woman’s identity until her family members were notified. The cause of death has not yet been determined, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“We understand the concerns and questions that may arise from any in-custody death,” the office said in the press statement. “While the independent investigations are ongoing, we want to assure the community that once the investigations are complete, the Sheriff’s Office will make the findings public on its website.   

The California Board of State and Community Corrections was also notified of the inmate’s death, in accordance with state law.