Kent city jail inmate dies in hospital after transport
Published 1:24 pm Monday, January 12, 2026
A 58-year-old man died at Valley Medical Center in Renton after medics transported him to the hospital following a medical incident at the City of Kent Corrections facility.
Damon Christopher Danner died Jan. 3 in Renton after an incident at the city jail, 1230 Central Ave. S., according to a Jan. 6 King County Medical Examiner’s Office report. The cause and manner of death of Danner are “pending,” according to the report.
Danner was found in his cell Jan. 2 by corrections staff, unconscious and not breathing, according to a Jan. 9 email from Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla, whose staff operates the jail. Corrections staff and the on-duty nurse immediately began lifesaving CPR and were able to revive him long enough for medic personnel to take over and transport him to the hospital, Padilla said.
Padilla said there were no use-of-force incidents involving corrections staff with Danner. He said Danner was housed in a cell by himself.
“We are unaware of any altercations that may have occurred between him and any other inmate,” Padilla said.
The chief has asked the Valley Independent Investigative Team, composed of neighboring police agencies, to conduct a review of the incident and that an internal review also will be completed.
“Until the independent review has been completed, we are not able to provide additional information,” Padilla said.
2 inmate deaths in 2025
Two inmates died in 2025 after incidents at the city jail.
DaMenique Lajuan Beasley, 36, died of complications following seizure and cardiac arrest in the setting of chronic opioid and methamphetamine use disorder and his manner of death was natural, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office Dec. 26 report.
Beasley died May 15 at Valley Medical Center in Renton, just two days after a corrections officer notified a police supervisor that a 36-year-old Kent man was having a medical emergency and medics transported him to the hospital, according to a May 15 Kent Police news release.
Rena Rae Flaherty, 45, died on April 22 at the city jail, according to a May 14 report by the medical examiner. A corrections officer found her dead in a holding cell, according to Kent Police. Flaherty died of “dehydration and ketoacidosis, opiate withdrawal,” and her manner of death was natural, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
