An arrow points to the belt investigators say Stamford officers missed when booking Jamal Linton on Jan. 26, 2025. He would later use the belt to hang himself. An investigation found Stamford police made several mistakes leading up to his death. 

By Josh Lanier From Daily Voice

A 27-year-old man who died in police custody in Connecticut hanged himself with a belt that officers failed to confiscate during two searches at the jail, a state investigation found.

Jamal Linton, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on Jan. 26, 2025, and charged with domestic violence crimes after his girlfriend told police he punched her in the face and threw her to the ground after kicking down a bathroom door where she was hiding, the Office of the Inspector General report said.

Linton was unable to post a $150,000 bond, and police planned to hold him overnight until his arraignment the next morning.

During intake at the Stamford police holding facility, officers searched Linton twice but missed his belt, despite a policy requiring removal of any item that could be used for self-harm, including shoelaces, belts, ties, or headbands, the report said.

However, police spoke with Linton, and he did not meet the criteria for being suicidal, investigators found.

Linton later used the belt to hang himself by wedging one end into a gap behind a telephone bolted to the wall, the report said. An autopsy determined he died by suicide from asphyxia.

The Office of the Inspector General found that while Stamford police were not the direct cause of Linton's death, failures to follow policy and lapses in supervision contributed to the circumstances that allowed it to occur.

"... I cannot fault the officers of the Stamford Police Department for failing to perceive a suicide risk that was far from evident. The preventability of Linton’s suicide is another story. The preventability of this tragedy, at least in part, turns on the lack of internal compliance with the Stamford Police Department’s own policies designed to ensure prisoner safety – including preventing self-harm. In two regards, those policies were not followed," the report said.

Investigators also found officers did not follow the required 30-minute inmate check protocol. New officers rotated in at 3 p.m. for a shift change, but Linton's body was not discovered until 5:42 p.m., the investigation found. Live surveillance video showed Linton's death, but no officer was watching to witness it, the report found. 

"The physical presence of the officers in the cellblock and their interaction with the prisoners might have discouraged Linton from connecting the belt to the phone box for fear of being discovered. I cannot know for sure; what I do know is that Linton never confronted that risk of discovery because no physical checks were made.

"Moreover, the officers’ monitoring of the cell video feed was deficient. Finally, the officers’ statement that they regularly checked the monitors does not seem reliable because Linton’s actions in committing suicide, beginning when he can be seen holding something and ending when he stopped moving, lasted almost ten minutes. Yet, this activity was not observed."

Stamford police said they have taken new steps to correct these issues.

Click here to read the full Inspector General's report.