A woman died last week while in custody at the Broome County Jail. Chelsey M. Davis, 38, of Port Dickinson, New York, was taken into custody on Oct. 8 at 2:14 p.m. before she was pronounced dead later that night after three medical evaluations and almost eight hours at the facility.

“This is a heartbreaking outcome for all those involved,” said Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar in a press release. “Despite this outcome, I am proud of the efforts of our Corrections and Medical staff in doing everything they could in a difficult situation.”

At 2:33 p.m., Davis began the booking process and medical screenings, consisting of a body scan, a pat search and evaluations for substance abuse, mental health and other medical needs. The press release noted that incarcerated individuals exhibiting symptoms of drug or alcohol withdrawal are immediately sent to a hospital.

Based on the medical screening’s findings, she was transferred to a medical unit at 3:37 p.m. for further monitoring.

Medical staff performed a second evaluation at 7:48 p.m. as part of standard routine. They did not report any signs of “discomfort or distress.”

Between 8:45 and 9 p.m., Davis’ “behavior and communication” prompted medical staff to request a third evaluation, according to the press release. After evaluating, the staff found her responsive and “not exhibiting any issues to indicate a medical emergency.”

At 9:21 p.m., the corrections staff witnessed Davis experience a medical emergency and attempted to perform life-saving measures, including CPR and using an automated external defibrillator. EMTs arrived on the scene 23 minutes later.

Davis was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:12 p.m. by an EMT in consultation with a physician.

An autopsy was conducted the next day, but the press release said that the sheriff’s office did not receive the full results as of Oct. 9. An investigation has been launched into her death in collaboration with the New York attorney general’s office and New York State Commission on Corrections.

“I pledged transparency from the beginning, and we are fully cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office and the NYSCOC to ensure everything was done correctly and up to the standards set by state law and policies,” Akshar said in the press release. “We hoped a tragic day like this would never come, but our team is committed to handling this situation the right way, meeting all statutory obligations and providing as much information to the public in this circumstance as we can.”

The Oct. 8 incident was not the first time Davis had been incarcerated in the past year. She was previously charged with two counts of criminal contempt in December 2024 and a single count of criminal contempt in June. All incidents occurred in Chenango, New York.

This was the first time an incarcerated individual died in the correctional facility since Akshar assumed office on Jan. 1, 2023, but not the first time an inmate died in the county jail.

In 2022, Branden Loori, 38, died while incarcerated at the facility. After a formal investigation, the Commission of Corrections’ medical review board determined that medical staff failed “to perform adequate assessments and recognize clinical indicators that hospitalization was necessary.” Had adequate assessment been performed, the board determined, Loori could have been transferred to a hospital where his death might have been prevented.

Between 2011 and 2023, 13 people have died in the facility, according to Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier, an organization dedicated to combating mass incarceration and advocating for incarcerated individuals.

A report from New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services found that the county jail saw a 57 percent increase in population between September 2024 and September 2025.

As of Oct. 16, the Sheriff’s Office had no updates on the incident.

“In a carceral setting, how do you possibly advocate for better healthcare?” Andrew Pragacz MA ‘18, president of JUST and an adjunct professor of sociology at Binghamton University, said. “You can’t get a second opinion, you can’t go to another hospital. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that if she had been in a hospital setting, she almost certainly wouldn’t have died.”