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State Agency Investigating Tulsa Municipal Jail Death

Matt Trotter

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations is probing the death of a woman who died while being held in the city’s jail on misdemeanor warrants.

The Tulsa Police Department says 46-year-old Lawanda Ward had been booked into the jail around 7 p.m. on Jan. 2. Ward had complained of not feeling well when she was booked, but Tulsa Police Lt. Shane Tuell says paramedics checked and cleared her.

Ward was found unresponsive about 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 6. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Tuell says TPD does not operate the city jail. That's done by a contractor chosen by the City of Tulsa, G4S Secure Solutions.

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Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.