Inmate dies following altercation with officers at Soledad prison

SOLEDAD – A state prison inmate with ties to Santa Clara County died Thursday at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad after he attacked an officer and was then pepper-sprayed, held down and placed in restraints, according to authorities.

The incident happened around 11 a.m. as officers were releasing people from their cells, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.

The inmate, identified as Joseph Altamirano, yelled at and then hit an officer with his fist, according to the CDCR. The officer in turn hit Altamirano, who fell to the floor and “attempted to reengage.”

“Staff activated their personal alarm devices, gave verbal orders to ‘get down’ and then used pepper spray when Altamirano continued to try to assault an officer,” the CDCR said. “Officers held Altamirano to the ground and put him in restraints to stop the attack.”

A short time later, Altamirano began having difficulty breathing. He was taken to an outside medical facility, where a doctor pronounced him dead around 12:35 p.m. Thursday. The coroner’s division of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office will determine his cause of death.

The Correctional Training Facility Investigative Services Unit is investigating the deadly incident.

The CDCR said Altamirano was admitted from Santa Clara County in 2003 to serve life without the possibility of parole for attempted carjacking and attempted kidnapping as a third-striker, with enhancements for prior felony convictions of a serious offense.