The death was first reported by The Oklahoman, which said multiple requests for information went unanswered, before jail administrators confirmed a man had died.
According to jail officials, Jeremiah Jermaine Coffey was found unresponsive in his cell and taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead on Jan. 21. Coffey's cause of death is under investigation by the state medical examiner, officials said.
While the details of Coffey's death remain unclear, it's far from the first time someone has died while incarcerated at the jail in downtown Oklahoma City. Activist group People's Council for Justice Reform reports at least 60 people have died since 2020, when the county placed a local trust in control of the jail, instead of the sheriff.
Federal data is incomplete, but the Oklahoma County jail also had one of the highest numbers of suicides reported to the government by any jurisdiction in the country between 2019 and 2023.
The facility is often overcrowded and chronically understaffed. In 2025, the jail had even fewer people on staff than previous year, despite efforts to hire and retain more officers with bonuses and wellness programs.
Last month, jail administrator Tim Kimery told the county Budget Evaluation Team that the detention center is set to run out of money before the fiscal year ends in June.
"It's probably going to be ugly," he said. "I will have to cut every place I can find … cut services. What do you want me to tell you? I guess we could start having bake sales out front of the jail."
Kimery has been in charge of jail operations since September, when former interim-CEO Paul Timmons abruptly resigned, becoming the third person in three years to vacate the top position.
In an effort to leave the fraught 13-story building behind, voters approved a bond for a new jail in 2022. But the project is running over budget by hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, Oklahoma City leaders are wrestling with how to meet the estimated $500 million gap.
Along with a new jail, city and county officials approved plans for an attached Behavioral Care Center, designed to divert people in crisis away from jail and into treatment. The center is being funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, which must be spent by the end of next year, so construction plans are forging ahead.
Coffey will be buried at the Riverside Gardens Cemetery in northeast Oklahoma City, according to a visitation posting from Temple & Sons Funeral Directors. He was a graduate of Douglass High School, and a cook at a Sonic Drive-In. He is survived by his parents, two brothers and one sister.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
