Sheriff: inmate pepper sprayed, dies

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) - A 34-year-old inmate died in the Muskegon County Jail after being pepper sprayed and restrained following two escape attempts, Sheriff Dean Roesler said in a statement.

Dahontae McKinley was pronounced dead at 4:34 p.m. Saturday at Hackley Hospital.

In the statement, Roesler said video tapes show McKinley twice tried to escape beginning around 3 p.m. The first time, Roesler said, McKinley is seen pushing past guards, who stopped him and took him back to his cell.

He tried again to escape, Roesler said, and this time guards and a jail trustee stopped him. During this attempt McKinley was pepper sprayed but it had no effect on him.

He was restrained inside his cell.

On a routine check around 3:30 p.m., McKinley was found unresponsive. He was rushed to Hackley Hospital and died about 60 minutes later.

"It wasn't nothing wrong with his heart," Katrina McKinley, Dahontae's wife, told 24 Hour News 8. "I want to know, but they really aren't giving me any information."

McKinley's wife told 24 Hour News 8 that she has not been able to get any information from the sheriff's department and wants to know what happened to her husband. She described him as healthy.
 
McKinley was jailed December 14 after he was accused of taking part in a robbery. He was also facing a solicitation of prostitution charge and a second-degree domestic violence charge.

He also has previous convictions for domestic violence, aggravated assault and controlled substances.
 
"I had just talked to him the day before, he sounded just fine," Katrina said. "He was ready to come home."
 
Dahontae was a father to six children, his wife said. The family found out about his death on his son's 16th birthday.
 
"I just want to know what happened," Katrina said, adding that hospital staff that cared for McKinley would not release details, only telling her that "he didn't suffer."
 
Roesler said he requested the Michigan State Police look into this incident. Autopsy results on McKinley are pending.