A Benton County Jail inmate who was transported to Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville last week has died, said Rob Holly, chief deputy with the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Jared Parks, 23, of Bentonville, was found unconscious and discolored in a jail cell just after 5 a.m. Wednesday. He was transported to Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville.
Parks was on a ventilator until his family decided to remove him from it Saturday. He then died, Holly said.
Parks was arrested Tuesday in connection with public intoxication and taken to the jail at about 9 p.m. Deputies noticed Parks was acting strangely. His eyes were dilated, and his speech was slurred. A booking supervisor refused to book Parks into the jail until a doctor checked him out, Holly said.
A Bentonville police officer took Parks to the hospital where Parks was found to have no alcohol in his system, Holly said. A doctor cleared Parks to be admitted into jail, he said.
In a jail video, Parks is seen tying his shoe, standing and talking to deputies, Holly said. An intake deputy continued to check on Parks throughout the night and talked to him at about 4 a.m. The deputy found Parks unresponsive about an hour later, and deputies started CPR and used a defibrillator on Parks until paramedics arrived.
Benton County Jail employees handled the situation appropriately, Holly said.
Parks' body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab, Holly said. The incident remains under investigation, and the Arkansas State Police may be asked to investigate, he said.
NW News on 04/14/2014