#Inmate at Brooklyn federal lockup dies after guards pepper-spray him

An inmate at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn died after being pepper sprayed by prison officers on Wednesday, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said.

Officers at the Sunset Park lockup responded to inmate Jamel Floyd’s cell at about 10 a.m. after he shattered his cell-door window with a metal object, the spokesperson said in a statement.

Officers then sprayed 35-year-old Floyd with pepper spray to subdue him, causing him to pass out, according to the statement.

Medical staff at the prison responded and tried to give him first aid, according to the agency. They soon called local EMS, who transported Floyd to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

His cause of death was not immediately released, but was not caused by COVID-19, the Bureau of Prisons said.

“The FBI and the United States Marshals Service were notified. No staff or other inmates were injured,” the agency said in a statement.

Floyd had been locked up at Metropolitan Detention Center since October 2019, the agency said.