Sheriff’s Office Reports In-Custody Death

The Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s Office (MCSO) reported Wednesday that a person in its custody, and booked at the Milwaukee County Jail, died Tuesday while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Joseph Boivin, 48, passed away at Froedtert Hospital early Tuesday morning, according to an initial demographic report released to Urban Milwaukee by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner.

Boivin was booked into the county jail Friday on three charges, according to the MCSO, which did not name him in its public announcement. He was discovered by a jail nurse Tuesday “experiencing a health crisis,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“Stabilization measures, including NARCAN deployment, were unsuccessful,” the sheriff’s office said. “And the man, who had a pulse and was breathing, was transported first to one area hospital and then another, where ultimately, he passed away Tuesday.”

The incident is being investigated by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department. Under state law, law enforcement agencies cannot investigate criminal incidents involving their own personnel. The MCSO is a member of the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT), which includes a number of local agencies, and which investigates critical incidents involving each other.

Boivin is the first in-custody death at the county jail, or involving the MCSO, since 2023. The agency and the jail have come under increased scrutiny by the public and elected officials in recent years following a string of six in-custody deaths, beginning in 2022 with the death of Brieon Green, who committed suicide less than 30 minutes after being booked into the jail.

A recently released audit of the jail found inadequate suicide watch practices, lack of training and overall unsanitary conditions at the jail.