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| 37-year-old black woman found dead in police custody | 37-year-old black woman found dead in police custody |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Ralkina Jones was found dead in her jail cell in Cleveland Heights City Jail on Sunday morning. | Ralkina Jones was found dead in her jail cell in Cleveland Heights City Jail on Sunday morning. |
| Cleveland Heights police accused the 37-year-old of striking her ex-husband in the arm with a tire iron outside of a Save-A-Lot food store. She then hopped into her automobile and allegedly came a few feet away from running over her ex and his friend — with her 11-year-old daughter in the backseat. | Cleveland Heights police accused the 37-year-old of striking her ex-husband in the arm with a tire iron outside of a Save-A-Lot food store. She then hopped into her automobile and allegedly came a few feet away from running over her ex and his friend — with her 11-year-old daughter in the backseat. |
| Police then arrested Ms Jones, however, her ex-spouse decided not to press charges against her. | Police then arrested Ms Jones, however, her ex-spouse decided not to press charges against her. |
| The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner performed a preliminary autopsy on Monday and said the woman had suffered no suspicious injuries but a full report is pending. In a statement, officials said that the woman was observed by medical professionals three times from Saturday evening into Sunday morning. | |
| At 7:15pm, officers noticed that Ms Jones appeared sluggish and phoned the Cleveland Heights Fire Department. At 10:40pm, she was released back to the jail after an evaluation at HealthSpan hospital. | |
| At 12:45am, on Sunday, she was checked and her vitals which appeared normal. At 7:30am, she was found unresponsive on her bed. | |
| Renee Ashford, the woman's sister, told Cleveland.com on Monday that her sister was fine when they spoke on Saturday: "She was perfectly fine. She didn't complain of nothing, saying she was hurting or anything.” | Renee Ashford, the woman's sister, told Cleveland.com on Monday that her sister was fine when they spoke on Saturday: "She was perfectly fine. She didn't complain of nothing, saying she was hurting or anything.” |
| She said the family has begged the department for more information to no avail: "Every time we call we don't get an answer and that's the upsetting part.” | She said the family has begged the department for more information to no avail: "Every time we call we don't get an answer and that's the upsetting part.” |
| "One thing I could say about my sister is she would want us to find out why? You can't just tell me one minute I see my sister and the next day, she dead." | "One thing I could say about my sister is she would want us to find out why? You can't just tell me one minute I see my sister and the next day, she dead." |
| In 2003, Ms Jones' uncle, Craig Bickerstaff, also died in Cleveland police custody after being shot to death by an officer. In 2014, the family won a lawsuit against the city receiving $22,500, Cleveland.com reported. |