The Pulaski sheriff’s office said a 21-year-old female county jail inmate, Trillus Smith of Little Rock, was found dead alone in her cell Wednesday. A release said there was no signs of suicide or trauma but an autopsy will be conducted.
Smith had been in custody since Feb. 2, when she was arrested after a physical encounter with officers at Baptist Medical Center. Smith, who had been at the hospital emergency room for unspecified reasons, reportedly wouldn’t follow security officer orders to leave a room in which another patient was changing clothes.
This led to a confrontation and Smith’s arrest after she reportedly stabbed an officer with a pen. The police report said Smith kicked violently once inside a patrol car and that she bit an officer who tried to control her. The report said a one-second burst of OC, or pepper, spray was used to subdue Smith.
She’d been jail since on battery, assault and criminal mischief charges.