Officer Suspended During Prisoner Death Investigation

An officer at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center is on administrative leave without pay after restraining a prisoner who later died, a Richland County official said.

Matthew Green, 58, died Saturday of blunt force trauma to the neck, said Richland County Coroner Gary Watts. Detention officers had found Green unresponsive in his cell a week earlier. 

Green was being booked for public intoxication on Aug. 16 when a detention center officer restrained him, according to Sheriff Leon Lott.

Surveillance video shows the officer patting down Green before putting him into a headlock. 

Detention officers found Green unresponsive in his cell around midnight, Lott said. Green was transported to the Dorn Veterans Administration Hospital, where he died about a week later. 

Richland County Sheriff's deputies are investigating the incident. Lott said Fifth Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson will determine if chares are appropriate.