Inmate dies after being pinned to the ground by staff at Sacramento County prison

(FOX40.COM) — Officials are investigating the death of an inmate at a state prison in Sacramento County after several guards pinned him to the ground.

According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, staff at California State Prison-Sacramento, located in Folsom, responded to a “disturbance in a housing unit” on April 12 around 6:55 p.m.

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The CDCR said inmate Christopher Leong “charged and began to hit staff,” and that when staff tried to put him in restraints, Leong “continued to lash out and spit at officers.”

The officers then pinned him to the ground, where he lost consciousness and stopped breathing. The CDCR did not specify how long he was pinned to the ground.

Staff provided medical aid and called emergency personnel, who declared Leong dead at 7:50 p.m., the CDCR said.

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Ten staff members reported having minor injuries as a result of the encounter and the Sacramento County Coroner will determine Leong’s cause of death, the CDCR said.

Leong was admitted to the prison on June 7, 2011, to serve a sentence of “life with the possibility of parole for discharge of a firearm in an inhabited dwelling/vehicle/aircraft, and second-degree attempted murder with street gang act in commission of violent felony/PC667.5(c),” the CDCR said.

The agencies that will investigate the death are CSP-Sacramento’s Investigative Services Unit, the CDCR’s Deadly Force investigation team and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General has also been notified, the CDCR said.

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