A man arrested Wednesday at Decatur Morgan Hospital on a charge of public intoxication later died in his jail cell, according to a police press release issued Thursday.

About 1:10 p.m., hospital security called Decatur police to report an intoxicated man in the hospital cafeteria, police said. Police officers found the man, Jim Jackson Wilkerson, staggering around a table and apparently intoxicated, police said. The officers learned Wilkerson had come to the hospital to visit a family member but had been asked to leave the room due to his condition, police said.

Officers escorted Wilkerson to the hospital lobby but, due to his state, determined he could not be left at the hospital, police said. They arrested him on a charge of public intoxication and took him to Decatur City Jail. While being booked at the jail, officers found an assortment of prescription pills in an unmarked pill bottle in Wilkerson’s pocket, police said. Two types of pills were identified as controlled substances — oxycodone (a narcotic painkiller) and alprazolam (a drug used to treat anxiety disorders). As a result, Wilkerson received an additional charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was placed in a cell with three other inmates. About 3:20 p.m., the inmates in the cell alerted jail staff that Wilkerson was having difficulty breathing, police said. Decatur Fire and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services responded. While emergency medical technicians were checking Wilkerson, he appeared to go into cardiac arrest, police said. EMTs began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transported Wilkerson to Decatur Morgan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Morgan County Coroner Jeff Chunn notified Wilkerson’s next of kin, who were still at the hospital.

Police Chief Ed Taylor has asked the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation to review the circumstances surrounding Wilkerson’s death.