SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - In a story April 22 about a prison inmate death, The Associated Press reported erroneously when the officers involved returned to work. They were allowed to return two weeks later, not two days later.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Autopsy: Heart failure, pepper spray killed Utah prisoner
Autopsy: Heart failure, pepper spray contributed to Utah prisoner’s death after 2014 fight
By BRADY McCOMBS
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A new autopsy report shows heart failure and pepper spray both contributed to the death of a Utah prisoner who died last fall after a fight.
The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman Brooke Adams said Wednesday.
The report found Christopher Lucas, 25, died of cardiopulmonary arrest after the fight as well as pepper spray exposure, Adams said.
State officials aren’t releasing the full autopsy report.
Four guards used pepper spray after Lucas and another prisoner ignored orders to stop fighting in their cell on Sept. 13, 2014. Lucas collapsed as he was being taken out and died at a hospital.
The officers are back at work after a prison review determined they acted appropriately, Adams said. They initially were put on administrative leave but allowed to go back to work two weeks after the incident, she said.
An internal investigation is ongoing and should be completed in the coming weeks, Adams said.
An outside investigation by Unified Police is also ongoing, said Lt. Justin Hoyal, who declined to comment on the case.
Lucas was serving a one- to 15-year sentence for felony sexual abuse. He had been at the prison since June 2009 and was next scheduled to appear before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole in January.
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