4 Polk County Deputies resign; others suspended after inmate’s death went unnoticed for nearly a day

Four Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies resigned in lieu of termination, and three supervisors were suspended without pay following the death of 55-year-old Essie Ward, whose body went unnoticed in her jail cell for up to 24 hours, according to newly released Inmate Death Administrative Investigation records.

Ward died April 3 inside the Polk County Central County Jail. For months, her family waited for answers about how she could have been left unresponsive for so long. The sheriff’s office did not release its internal affairs findings until late November, more than seven months after her death.

A mother lost, family left with questions

Recently, Ward’s children walked through Lincoln Park Cemetery in Lakeland, visiting the graves of relatives. They never imagined their mother would be buried there, too.

“I never knew that would be the last time I’d see her alive,” her daughter, Jameshia Mills, said.

Ward has a history of criminal arrests. But her family says Ward also struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

“And the times that she was arrested before, she was suffering mental health issue,” Jameshia Mills said.

Late last year, she experienced another episode. Ward was arrested on Nov. 30, 2024, and charged with armed burglary, grand theft, possession, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Her public defender later raised concerns that she was not mentally competent to stand trial. A competency hearing was scheduled for April 25 — three weeks after she died.

“I used to try to comfort my mom and just let her know, you know, I’m going to make sure that I get you to the help that you need,” Jameshia said.

The morning she was found

According to the sheriff’s office’s death investigation report, deputies found Ward unresponsive in her single cell at 9:30 a.m. on April 3. They performed CPR for 23 minutes before she was pronounced dead.

But the medical examiner noted Ward was already in the early stages of decomposition. The autopsy report found she had been dead between 18 and 24 hours before deputies attempted lifesaving measures.

“I was shocked to hear that,” her daughter said.

A ‘protective action’ and use of a shock GLOVE

The Administrative Investigation documents reveal that on March 31 — just days before Ward died — a deputy used pepper spray and a low-voltage “shock glove” on Ward after reporting that she threw foam cups, yelled, and walked toward the deputy. The report notes the agency-provided G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) was used on her right forearm. A nurse later documented that Ward’s eyes and skin were red and irritated. Her children insist their mother was not violent.

“My mom didn’t attack people,” her son Jamal said. “She wasn’t a violent person.”

Required 15-minute checks were not properly performed

Ward was housed in the jail’s mental health/medical unit where inmates are supposed to be checked every 15 minutes. Records show deputies logged “movement,” but some later admitted they could not see Ward’s face, did not verify whether her chest was rising and falling, and noted she wasn’t eating her meals.

“It’s hard. It’s tough. It’s heartbreaking. My mom didn’t receive the proper care. You know, it is all there for her to be deceased. 24 hours in her cell and the fact that she was also put on some type of restriction where she was deserved a 15-minute round check. She never got the 15-minute round check. If my mom received those 15-minute round checks. She could possibly still be here today,” Jameshia said.

Former corrections deputy Pete Bloodworth reviewed the findings and said not eating her meals should have been a red flag.

“When we saw that there were opportunities where meals were being served, but they weren’t being taken in, when you see that there’s a lack of, of meal intake from the, from that specific detainee, it’s going to give you the, the, it should give you the nudge to check into that,” Bloodworth said. “If you can’t see the rise and fall of the chest, that’s an indicator you have to engage. These checks aren’t optional.”

He added that in the federal system, some facilities require inmates to stand during counts to confirm well-being.

A family still searching for accountability

According to the sheriff’s office, four deputies resigned before the internal investigation concluded. Three supervisors were suspended for 120 hours without pay.

The medical examiner ruled that Ward died of heart disease. Her family says she had no history of heart problems.

Ward’s children say that while the disciplinary actions are a start, they want broader change.

“Everybody’s got a mother,” Jamal said. “If it was someone else’s mother, I’d feel their pain. That’s why we’re fighting.”

10 Investigates has made multiple requests to interview Sheriff Grady Judd. As of this publication, we have not received an interview. A spokesperson for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office sent us this statement:

“We book in between 25,000 to 30,000 inmates annually at the Polk County Jail—well over a ¼ million people have cycled through our jails over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of the people we book in are unhealthy, drug and/or alcohol abusers, mentally ill, violent, and are poor decision makers. Because of this, we have inmates in our custody who have serious illnesses, life threatening medical episodes, and, unfortunately, a very few die in our jail.

Essie Ward has been booked into our jail 22 times since 1988, and she has spent many years in Florida State Prison on five separate sentences. She has an extensive criminal history including property crimes, violent crimes, and drug crimes. She has been a drug and alcohol abuser for many years; she has been Baker Acted for mental evaluation 17 times since 2012; and she has a lengthy history of poor medical health and unstable mental health. She was in the Polk County Jail charged with grand theft of a firearm, grand theft motor vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, armed burglary, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and driving while licenses suspended or revoked.

She was often violent and disruptive while she was in custody at the Polk County Jail. Ms. Ward was housed in our mental health facility at the Central County Jail. She unfortunately passed away in the jail in April of 2025. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough death investigation and administrative (internal) investigation. The Medical examiner’s office conducted a detailed medical autopsy. And the State Attorney’s Office reviewed all the findings. The autopsy revealed that Ms. Ward died of Atherosclerotic Hypertensive Heart Disease and her death was natural. The autopsy revealed no physical trauma to her body. At the time of her death she was seriously obese.

Our administrative investigation found that four detention deputies who were responsible for routine checks on Ms. Ward neglected their duties because they indicated that she was sleeping on multiple occasions, when, the investigation later determined, she was deceased. Had the four detention deputies not resigned, they would have been fired. Three supervisors in that part of the jail were each suspended without pay for 120 hours (3 weeks) for failing to ensure compliance of our general orders through proper supervision.

Regardless of their failure to follow proper procedures, they did not contribute to Ms. Ward’s death, which was a natural death caused by many years of drug and substance abuse and an unhealthy lifestyle, which led to Atheroscleroptic and Hypertensive Heart Disease, Nephrosclerosis, and Pulmonary Emphysema.

The Polk County Jail is professionally accredited and our medical provider is also professionally accredited. Our policies meet best practices for detention facilities and operations. Had the detention deputies followed our systems, policies and practices in place, there would have been no reason to have disciplined them for neglecting their duties.

As a result of the findings of the administrative investigations, we have added still another layer of systematically checking inmates. Each inmate in jail is now being physically checked and arm bands scanned by the outgoing and incoming detention deputy shift members, together, to ensure each inmate is awake and communicating at least twice daily. This is in addition to our ongoing visual checks of inmates every 10, 15, or 30 minutes based on the housing status of the inmate.”