Florida Jail Officer Dies After 'Health Issue' On Duty

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CANTONMENT (CBSMiami/AP) — A tragedy inside a Florida jail.

Authorities say a corrections officer died after falling ill on duty at a corrections facility.

In a statement , Escambia County officials said 63-year-old Officer Joe William Heddy Jr. died Saturday after being taken to a hospital from a jail facility in Cantonment, near Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle.

According to the statement, emergency responders were called to the facility for a "non-injury related health issue." Officials said the sheriff's office will investigate "as is standard protocol."

Heddy had worked for the county since 2009 and oversaw inmates temporarily housed at the facility.

County Administrator Jack Brown said Heddy was respected by the inmates in his care as well as by his fellow corrections officers.