Jailhouse video shows deputies laughing as prisoner dies

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Jailhouse video reveals California sheriff’s deputies watching and sometimes laughing as a schizophrenic man who had been strapped naked to a chair for 46 hours writhes on the floor of his cell, loses consciousness and eventually dies.

The Tribune of San Luis Obispo on Friday released video of 36-year-old Andrew Holland’s death on Jan. 22, 2017. San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer Wade Horton calls it “extremely painful to watch.”

Last year, the county awarded Holland’s family $5 million for his death from a pulmonary embolism.

The newspaper reports that he was taken into custody in 2015 on charges of battery, resisting an officer and probation violations. He was strapped into the chair after repeatedly hitting himself.

County officials say changes in jail procedures have been made as a result of his death.