An inmate at the Men’s Central Jail died Tuesday afternoon after he was pepper-sprayed by deputies who were trying to break up a fight between the man and his cellmate, officials said.

Officials said the man, whose name has not been released, attacked his cellmate and refused orders to stop fighting. Deputies then used pepper spray on the man, removed him from the cell and put him in handcuffs, said Deputy Trina Shrader, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

While he was in the shower washing off the pepper spray, she said, the man “went into distress.”

Deputies performed CPR and called the medical staff. Paramedics responded and pronounced him dead.


Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the death, which was reported about 2:40 p.m at the jail, located at 441 Bauchet St. near downtown L.A.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek

UPDATES:


11:35 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the inmate’s death.

This article was originally published at 8:10 p.m.