The death of Garrison Bryant, 33, is the third time since September that an inmate has died or been seriously injured while in county custody.
Neither the Prosecutor’s Office nor Essex County officials had previously announced Bryant’s death, but they confirmed it to NJ Advance Media.
Brooke Barnett, a Newark attorney hired by Bryant’s family after he died, said Bryant was in a fight on or about Feb. 20, during which he was struck in the head from behind by a broomstick. He spoke to his mother by phone, and he complained of head pain and jumbled his words, the attorney said. Bryant also sought medical attention from the facility’s staff and received medication for his head pain, Barnett said.
Inmates later found Bryant unconscious, and he was taken by ambulance to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, she said.The Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy, but the official cause of death was not yet available. Barnett said she hopes to have a second autopsy conducted by a private forensic pathologist.
A father of two, Bryant was housed in Delaney Hall, a private facility adjacent to the jail owned by private prison company The GEO Group, which did not respond to a request for comment. The facility provides care to Essex County’s lower-level inmates and focuses on substance abuse rehabilitation and other things to help reduce recidivism, said Essex County Chief of Staff Phil Alagia.
The facility does not use Essex County corrections officers, but county jail officials conduct walk-throughs of the facility, Alagia said. On Thursday, Delaney Hall housed about 250 Essex County inmates., including security, staffing and employee responsibilities. The review is being led by retired Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.
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