A US inmate hanged himself using a prison-issued COVID-19 mask, reports say.
On Wednesday, Daniel Ocasio, 32, took his own life using a cloth face covering given to inmates in Connecticut to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The Department of Corrections reportedly said Ocasio was found in his prison cell at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center.
Ocasio used the distributed face mask as a ligature and the medical examiner ruled his death as a suicide on Thursday, The New York Times reported.
He had been an inmate there since August 5 and was being held on a $10,000 bond for a burglary.
Connecticut State Police and The Department of Corrections are investigating his death at the CT prison.
A spokesman for the state police said this probe was routine when an inmate dies in custody.
A spokeswoman for the prison system there said investigators thoroughly look into Ocasio’s death and will examine the cloth material that he used.
“With that being said, there are all sorts of authorized materials that could be used to self-harm,” the spokeswoman, Karen Martucci, told the Times. “We are not going to have a knee-jerk reaction here.”
More than 1,344 inmates out of the 9,596 inmates in Connecticut prisons have COVID-19, which has also infected 386 corrections employees.
Seven inmates have died from the deadly virus, according to the Department of Corrections.
Prisoners have to wear a mask when they’re leaving their their cells and entering a communal area, according to Martucci.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
