Another Brooklyn Federal Jail Inmate Dies, Court Docs Say

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The notorious Brooklyn federal lock up where Jamel Floyd died after being pepper sprayed by guards had another inmate die, according to court documents.

Metropolitan Detention Center inmate Kenneth Houck, 44, died on May 19, the records state.

The circumstances behind Houck's death remain unclear.

Federal court records simply state Houck, a child pornography suspect and MDC inmate, died at NYU Langone Hospital "due to unknown circumstances."

Houck, who was white, died about two weeks before Floyd barricaded himself inside his cell, authorities said.

Floyd, who was black, was a potential harm to himself and others, authorities claim. Guards pepper sprayed him inside his cell and dragged him out, they said.

But once they got Floyd outside his cell they found he was unresponsive, authorities said. He was later pronounced dead.

Floyd's June 3 death quickly prompted an official investigation, accusations of "murder" from his family and protests dovetailing with demonstrations over the killing of George Floyd and police brutality.

Conditions at MDC Brooklyn in Sunset Park have long drawn scrutiny and criticism. A judge once described its conditions as "third world."