Macon County Sheriff's Office, Missouri
End of Watch: Sunday, June 24, 2007
Age: 67
Tour of Duty: 24 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: June 8, 2007
Weapon Used: Person
Suspect Info: Not available
Chief Jailer David Gwin died as the result of a heart attack he suffered following a struggle with a prisoner.
The inmate had been arrested for drunk driving by members of the Macon Police Department and became extremely combative and belligerent with the Macon officers. He was transported to the Macon County Jail for processing and continued refusing the officers' orders. Chief Jailer Gwin instructed the inmate to remove his necklace, but the man refused. As Chief Jailer Gwin attempted to remove the necklace, the prisoner struggled with him. The prisoner was subdued with the assistance of the Macon officers.
After the prisoner was moved to a holding cell, Chief Jailer Gwin returned downstairs and began having trouble breathing while talking with the other officers. When the chief was transported to a hospital he stopped breathing. Officers and ER staff performed CPR and were able to stabilize his condition. He was flown to another hospital where he remained until passing away two weeks later.
Chief Jailer Gwin had served with the Macon County Sheriff's Department for 24 years.