Sheriff talks jail protocol following inmate's death

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The death of inmate William Powell put a lot of Terre Haute officials in the hot seat, but Vigo County Sheriff Greg Ewing said his staff did their job correctly.  Friday, Ewing talked with News 10 about Powell’s death and addressed jail protocol.

On January 8, William Powell died inside the Vigo County Jail.

An autopsy determined Powell died from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, which led to an infection.

Powell was originally picked up Sunday night on a city court warrant.

The question that many may be wondering is, what happened between Sunday and Tuesday? 

News 10 sat down with Sheriff Greg Ewing who said the moment Powell entered his facility, every protocol was followed correctly.

"I feel comfortable that all of our steps that we took leading up to, and including, our part of the investigation...[were] performed within the guidelines and standards of the jail,” said Ewing.

Powell was picked up by police Sunday night and taken to Regional Hospital for medical treatment after getting into a fight with James Ross.

Regional Hospital had no comment but Sheriff Ewing says according to the medical report Powell was cleared by the hospital.

"When he was at the hospital, obviously, there were no signs of bruising...[His] intoxication level was high...so you probably have a couple different things going on here,” said Ewing.

News 10 asked Ewing what's the next step when someone dies inside the jail.

Ewing said a report will be sent off for further review to the Indiana department of corrections plus the jail is inspected by the department once a year.

Ewing said, "This is the first in-custody death that Vigo County jail has had in well over 10 years, and that is taking into account that we book in over 65,000 people a year."

But, after an internal review of the situation, Ewing said he saw no error.  He's confident his medical staff followed all standards.

"Can you use anything as a learning experience? Sure, but to say did we do something that was inappropriate, absolutely, I would disagree with that statement,” said Ewing.

News 10 tried to contact Powell's family but they chose not to talk.

As for James Ross, police arrested him for manslaughter and he's being held on $75,000 cash bond.