ANDERSON, Ind. —
As Indiana State Police continue their investigation into the apparent suicide of a 17-year-old boy in the back of a police squad car, a spokesman for the Indiana Police academy said Thursday there is no “hard-fast guideline” for leaving a prisoner unattended.
Coroner Ned Dunnichay identified the boy Wednesday as Jace Zook of Anderson.
According to a release from the city, Zook appears to have strangled himself using the seatbelt in the back of a squad car.
Officers attempted to resuscitate Zook, and called for an ambulance. He was later pronounced dead at Saint John’s Medical Center.
The investigation of Zook’s death has been turned over to state police for transparency reasons.
Cpt. David Younce, spokesman for the Indiana Police Academy in Plainfield, said generally it is not good protocol to leave a prisoner unattended. However, he said there are situations when officers need to tend to other priorities after an arrest, such as interviewing witnesses or victims.
Zook and two other accomplices were alleged to have tried to break into the Madison County Shrine Club. All three suspects had their hands handcuffed behind their backs, and placed in separate squad cars, a tactic Younce said is used to prevent offenders of the same crime from conspiring to make up a false story.
Younce said he had not yet heard the details of the alleged suicide, but said if officers are aware a suspect has a history of suicide attempts, officers are to take special precautions that they don’t hurt themselves.
“Unfortunately,” he said, officers usually don’t learn about those details until after the arrest is completed.
Funeral services for Zook is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at Westside Christian Church in Kokomo.
Find Sam Brattain on Facebook and @SamBrattain on Twitter, or call 640-4883.
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