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The man who died in the Secure Psychiatric Unit at the New Hampshire state prison in Concord over the weekend had been involved in an altercation with corrections officers, officials said Monday, identifying him.
Jason Rothe, 50, was on Saturday involved in the altercation with several officers working at the Secure Psychiatric Unit, which is located on the prison's campus, according to state prosecutors and police. They didn't share details about what took place in the altercation.
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Afterward, officers noticed that he wasn't responsive and tried to be resuscitate Rothe, but he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, officials said. The incident began about 12:55 p.m.
It wasn't immediately clear what killed Rothe — an autopsy conducted Sunday on him didn't find a conclusive cause or manner of his death, prosecutors and police said.
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They didn't share what led to Rothe's confinement at the Secure Psychiatric Unit. Their investigation continued as of Monday.
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections said the officers involved were put on administrative leave while the use-of-force incident was reviewed.
"Any death of a resident under the care and custody of the Department is a tragedy and the Department extends its sympathy to the family of Mr. Rothe," the department said in a statement, noting it was cooperating with the investigation.
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The Secure Psychiatric Unit is separate from the New Hampshire State Prison. It provides care for people determined to "present a serious likelihood of danger to himself or to others if admitted to or retained in a receiving facility in the state mental health services system," according to state law.
