Reading Time: 4 minutes

A man who was being held at the Milwaukee County Jail is disputing the account from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office about the events leading up to the in-custody death last week of Kourtney Edwards, a 45-year-old Milwaukee man.

Alex Williams, 33, said officials at the jail ignored initial pleas to help Edwards. 

He said he heard people in a nearby holding cell banging on the door and yelling through a slot that someone was vomiting, wasn’t doing well and needed help.

“Those calls went ignored for a while,” Williams said, estimating that they lasted several minutes.

Williams said officers eventually removed the man from the holding cell and began walking him toward the nurses’ station. He said Edwards made it about halfway there before appearing to have a seizure and collapsing. Williams said he was foaming at the mouth.

“He was not assessed by nurses until he was passed out on the ground,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t even call that an assessment. That was them trying to save his life.”

Williams said he arrived at the jail around 2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, and remained in the booking area until early Wednesday morning. He said he was still going through the booking process when Edwards became ill Tuesday morning.

Timeline from sheriff’s office

The account from the sheriff’s office previously reported by NNS stated that Edwards was brought to the jail the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 18, had been initially medically cleared and was awaiting a secondary screening when he reported vomiting and feeling ill shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Nurses then assessed him and determined he needed to be taken to a hospital. While an ambulance crew and two deputies prepared to transport the man to the hospital, he experienced a medical emergency. 

He lost his pulse and stopped breathing.

Emergency personnel attempted life-saving measures, but he was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m.

A representative from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office told NNS Tuesday that it would “be a while” before the cause and manner of Edwards’ death was determined.

Concerns about in-jail deaths

Alan Chavoya, treasurer and organizer for the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said Williams’ account reaffirms concerns he already had about Edwards’ death.

“It’s deeply upsetting and infuriating if he was able to be assisted sooner – if that would have saved his life,” Chavoya said. “Could this have been prevented? It seems like yes.”

The sheriff’s office told NNS Friday that it had no comment beyond saying that it is an active, ongoing investigation and that questions should be directed to the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, which is conducting the investigation.

The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to a request for comment.

Edwards’ death is at least the 10th of a person in Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office custody since June 2022, including six deaths during a 14-month period in 2022 and 2023 and three in 2025.

Other allegations

Williams also said the man’s death took place amid overcrowding, booking delays and repeated instances in which staff failed to promptly respond to requests for assistance.

He described the cells as hot, with little or no airflow, and said people repeatedly yelled through slots in the cell doors that they needed water or to use the bathroom.

“It was often ignored,” Williams said.

He said the jail was overcrowded. 

His holding cell was marked for 12 people but held between 13 and 20 people at different points, he said. Williams said the overcrowding made the toilet difficult to access because people were sleeping or standing around it.

Williams also described significant booking delays, made worse because there was no third-shift booking staff Monday night.

He said his bail was posted at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, but that he was not booked into the system until about 2:30 p.m. that day and was not released until around 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Nothing changed after death

Williams said he noticed no real changes after Edwards died during the time he spent in custody until he was released. He said officers still sometimes ignored pleas for assistance.

Williams believes the conditions at the jail contributed to the man’s death.

“They should take every call for help seriously,” he said.

Chavoya said the allegations from Williams fit what he sees as a broader pattern at the jail, including neglect and perhaps abuse “of the people who are supposed to be, as we’re reminded, under their care.”

Chavoya said he wants investigators to determine what happened and for the sheriff’s office to release video of the incident.

Last Friday, a spokesperson for the Office of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley told NNS in a written statement that the incident doesn’t raise concerns about medical care at the jail.

“The jail’s medical staff and Milwaukee Fire Department EMS performed lifesaving measures, but, despite best efforts, the individual died,” the spokesperson for Crowley’s office said. 

When NNS reached out with Williams’ account, a spokesperson for Crowley’s office said that the initial report from the sheriff’s office of the incident did not indicate cause for immediate concern.

“The matter is now under review by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office,” the spokesperson said. 

Williams said he is worried about potential retaliation for speaking publicly about what he witnessed but believes coming forward is important.

He said he wants “to model morals, bravery and humanitarianism” for his family.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Eyewitness says Milwaukee jail officials initially ignored pleas to help man who died in custody is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Local jail reform advocates say they have serious concerns about the death of a 45-year-old man in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail on Aug. 18.

Many of their concerns are not new.

“It’s a very painful sort of flashback of the different cases we’ve encountered where people are in for a bit, or for a duration of time … and assistance isn’t provided,” said Alan Chavoya, treasurer and organizer with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

The alliance is a Black and brown-led grassroots organization that says it aims “to end police crimes, advance community control of policing, and build collective power.”

Last week’s death is at least the 10th death of a person in Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office custody since June 2022, including six deaths during a 14-month period in 2022 and 2023 and three in 2025.

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies picked up the man from the West Allis Police Department at 4:25 a.m. Aug. 18 and brought him to the Milwaukee County Jail.

During the booking process, Wellpath nursing staff medically cleared him, although a secondary medical screening remained pending. Shortly before 8:30 a.m., the man told jail staff he had vomited and did not feel good.

Nurses assessed him and determined he needed transportation to a hospital.

While an ambulance crew and two deputies prepared to transport him, the man experienced a medical emergency, lost his pulse and stopped breathing.

Emergency crews and Milwaukee Fire Department first responders attempted lifesaving measures, but officials pronounced him dead at 9:30 a.m.

“The timeline just seems very, very odd,” Chavoya said. “How is it that people are approved or like given the green light to be administered into the jail, and then less than a couple of hours later, the person is vomiting? Where was the failure there?”

Chavoya said the initial medical screening by Wellpath, the jail’s contracted health care provider, also raises questions.

“We’ve had our eye on Wellpath for quite some time, and it’s not just a Milwaukee issue – it’s a nationwide issue,” he said.

Robert Thibault, vice president of Prison Action Milwaukee, an advocacy and support group for people affected by the criminal justice system, and a member of the Sheriff’s Community Advisory Board, shared some of Chavoya’s concerns. 

“Did everybody do everything they possibly could have? Was everything done that could have possibly been done in a reasonable time?” Thibault asked. 

He pointed to an independent audit completed in 2024 that identified deficiencies in several areas, including mental health services, suicide prevention and staffing.

Thibault said he recently toured the jail and saw improvements compared with several years ago.

NNS contacted the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office but did not immediately receive a response.

County Executive David Crowley’s office responds

In a written statement to NNS, a spokesperson for the Office of County Executive David Crowley said the office is confident that everything possible was done for this man.

“The cause of death is still under review by the Medical Examiner’s Office, but this incident doesn’t raise concerns about medical care at the jail,” the statement read. “The jail’s medical staff and Milwaukee Fire Department EMS performed lifesaving measures, but despite best efforts, the individual died.”

Milwaukee County Supervisor Justin Bielinski, chair of the County Board’s Judiciary, Law Enforcement and General Services Committee, said he spoke with jail officials about the death, but the investigation will ultimately make clear what happened.

As the investigation proceeds, Chavoya said he wants accountability and concrete steps to prevent another death in custody. 

“Maybe you can’t give us everything, but, at least, get some public trust again by explaining what the steps you are taking to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

What happens next

Bielinski said he expects the investigation, being conducted by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office, to take several months. Meanwhile, he said he is exploring changes that could identify medical emergencies sooner.

Bielinski said his focus after incidents like this is to figure out “how can we improve process.”

Specifically, Bielinski wants the county to explore providing wearable health monitors to people awaiting booking.

The devices could track measures such as pulse and blood oxygen levels and then alert staff to a medical emergency sooner. He said he asked Wellpath to explore a pilot program for the use of such devices.

“We just give ourselves the chance to get ahead of whatever medical emergency might be happening sooner,” Bielinski said.

Milwaukee jail death raises familiar concerns among reform advocates is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.