By Allen Powell II
Times-Picayune
NEW ORLEANS — A Baton Rouge man in custody at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center died Tuesday morning after he was administered medication and subdued by jail personnel.
Eancie Cowart, 23, was pronounced dead at 1:16 a.m. at West Jefferson Medical Center after being transported from the correctional center following cardiac arrest, said Col. John Fortunato, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman. Cowart had been in custody since July 16 and was awaiting extradition to Florida on an attempted-robbery charge. His cause of death has not been determined.
Fortunato said Cowart was arrested July 16 by New Orleans police because he was wanted by Jefferson Parish on a drug charge, and because he was wanted in Florida. Cowart was taken to the parish jail July 17, and was expected to be moved to Florida on July 29.
Fortunato said Cowart acknowledged he had several mental health conditions and was admitted to the infirmary at the correctional center where he was prescribed medication for his conditions.
On July 21, Fortunato said, Cowart became hostile with medical staff and would not allow them to give him his medication. During that incident, Cowart destroyed a medical bed and attempted to use the bed leg to break a cell window. He was physically subdued, Fortunato said.
On July 23, Cowart again become hostile with medical staff and was subdued by correctional officers using a Taser. The next day, Cowart had another flare-up and was subdued without an altercation, Fortunato said.
On Monday, a nurse saw Cowart pacing with his fingers in his ears and watched him punching a wall. Cowart also was running around the holding area, hallucinating, striking the door with his shoulder and screaming, Fortunato said.
At about midnight, the medical staff felt that Cowart might harm himself if he continued those actions and they gave him medication.
Fortunato said Cowart fought the staff and officers while they gave him his medication, but was eventually subdued by officers. After he was subdued, the medical staff checked his vital signs and found him to be breathing with a pulse, but Cowart soon went into cardiac arrest, Fortunato said.
The medical staff tried to resuscitate him and used a defibrillator, but eventually called paramedics at 12:18 a.m. Cowart was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour later.
Fortunato said Cowart had previous arrests, but court records show no convictions or formal charges. He previously lived on Richland Avenue and Caswell Lane in Metairie.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company