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Officers Put On Leave After Santa Clara County Inmate Found Dead

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Three Santa Clara County correctional officers have been put on leave after an inmate died in his cell last week.

Court documents identify the jail inmate who died in custody as Michael James Tyree, a 31-year-old white man whose address is listed as "transient."

Medical Examiner: Santa Clara Co. Jail Inmate Died Of Blunt Force Injuries

Tyree was arrested for petty theft, but he has a history of drug arrests and mental illness.

The sheriff's office, which runs the jail, said officers found him dead in his cell last Thursday.

"A correctional deputy was doing a welfare check, came across an inmate who was unresponsive," said Sgt. James Jensen of the Santa Clara Co. Sheriff's Office. "He called for other deputies.  Medical aid was rendered, fire and paramedics were called, and they pronounced our inmate deceased at the scene in the jail."

The San Jose Mercury News cited unnamed sources who say Tyree was involved in a use of force incident with correctional officers over taking his medication, hours before he was found dead.

The sheriff's office, which is now overseeing a criminal death investigation, refused to comment on those reports, but a spokesman confirmed that three correctional officers are on administrative leave. "It's always a criminal case with an in-custody death," Jensen said.

"The information has just been really slow in coming out and that's creating tension and distrust," said Dale Weatherspoon of PACT.

Watchdog groups like PACT are calling on the sheriff to turn over the investigation to another agency or set up an oversight committee to ensure a transparent investigation.

"Having an oversight committee helps the community and it helps the agency because it takes away the suspicion of maybe they are withholding information, trying to get their story straight or whether there's a cover-up," Weatherspoon said.

"I assure you that our Sheriff's office detectives have the integrity to do a complete and full investigation," Jensen said.

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