Name released of man who died in Pennington County Jail

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office released the name of the man found dead in his jail cell early Wednesday morning.

He is 56-year-old Floyd Joseph Slow Bear of Rapid City.

An autopsy was conducted but no information was released, although Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said preliminary results point to natural causes.

The state Department of Criminal Investigations is looking into the death.

Original Story:

An investigation has been launched into the death of a man at the Pennington County Jail sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

The person’s name is being withheld pending notification of his family. He was a 56-year-old Native American man from Rapid City.

According to a release from the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the man was booked into the jail at about 6:23 p.m. Tuesday on a disorderly conduct charge “following a disturbance in the community.” At about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday, corrections staff making rounds found the man dead in his cell.

Preliminary results from a Wednesday morning autopsy point to natural causes, according to the sheriff’s office; but final autopsy results are pending.

With a jail death, the investigation is turned over to the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.