By Paul Sylvain

Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North is conducting an investigation in the Feb. 19 death of an inmate found unresponsive  in an intake cell at the Washington County Jail in Machias.

Jail Administrator Richard Rolfe said on Feb. 20 that 27-year-old Joseph Shields was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct late morning on Feb. 19 and booked into the jail. At about 5:15 p.m., Shields, who was still in an intake cell, was found unresponsive by officers at the jail. 

“Corrections officers immediately initiated life-saving measures and called for emergency medical services,” Washington County Sheriff Barry Curtis said in a press release. “Attempts to revive Shields were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.”

A number of ambulances, fire-rescue and law enforcement vehicles responded to the Washington County Complex on Court Street in Machias, which includes the jail, sheriff’s office, regional communications center and court offices in Machias.

Sheriff Curtis went on to say that the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit North “was contacted to investigate the in-custody death.” Additionally, the Maine Department of Corrections  ‘will thoroughly review all jail procedures, which is standard practice in situations like this,” Curtis said.

Rolfe, meanwhile, said the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta will be conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death.