Inmate found dead in Arkansas jail

Authorities are investigating after an inmate was found dead in his cell at the Van Buren County jail.

Sheriff Scott Bradley said in a statement that detention officers performed CPR but that Steven Brainard, 33, was pronounced dead at the jail Monday morning.

Brainard was found "hanging in his pod" by workers who were picking up breakfast dishes, the statement said, noting Brainard had earlier resisted and fought with officers when he was booked in.

Brainard had been arrested on Saturday and faced misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest, an official with the Van Buren County jail said Wednesday.

The statement said a preliminary Arkansas State Police probe suggested Brainard killed himself, though it said the investigation was not yet complete and would ultimately be forwarded to the prosecutor's office for review.

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