32-year-old man dies after altercation with detention officers while on his way out of Harris County Jail | Houston Public Media

A 32-year-old man who was being escorted out of the Harris County Jail early Tuesday morning died after he was involved in a physical altercation with detention officers, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Alexis Jovany Cardenas was being released from the downtown Houston jail at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday and allegedly resisted detention officers as they attempted to escort him to an exit door, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday afternoon why he allegedly resisted officers or why a detention officer deployed a stun gun on the man, striking him. The sheriff’s office said the stun gun was not immediately ineffective. Cardenas then allegedly forced his way back into a secure area of the jail where inmates were being processed to be released, the sheriff’s office said.

“Multiple detention officers eventually gained control over Cardenas,” according to the release. “Once control was established, they noticed that Cardenas was unresponsive.”

Ten other people have died in Harris County Jail custody this year, including three inmates who died within a 48-hour span in June.

A detention officer administered CPR to Cardenas while medical staff responded, according to the sheriff’s office, which said the man was transported to St. Joseph Hospital and pronounced dead just before 2 a.m. Tuesday.

The Texas Rangers are conducting an investigation into the incident. The sheriff’s office will release video footage of the altercation within 45 days, it said.

Cardenas was arrested on Sunday by the Houston Police Department on what the sheriff’s office described as “municipal charges.” The police department deferred questions about the charges to the City of Houston Municipal Courts Department, which could not immediately provide information about the charges Cardenas was facing.