The Bucks County Correctional Facility.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Bucks County officials have confirmed that a woman died in October after an incident at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Doylestown Township.
Brittany Ann Harbaugh, 28, of Philadelphia, died October 1 at Doylestown Hospital after having a “medical incident in the presence of an officer” at the prison, county spokesperson Larry King said.
As to why news of the death was not reported earlier, King said he had started the job leading the county’s public information office a week after the death occurred and was not aware of the incident until a reporter inquired.
“We have received notice of litigation in this matter and therefore will have no further comment on it,” King said.
Bucks County Courier Times journalists Jo Ciavaglia, who first broke news of the death, reported that the coroner said Harbaugh died of “complications of chronic substance abuse.” She also reported that an attorney representing Harbaugh’s family stated the woman told her family she was experiencing withdrawal symptoms and chest pain before her death.
According to court records and an official, Harbaugh had been in county custody since September 27 when she was sentenced to three to 23 months behind bars on a probation violation relating to a 2014 Bensalem theft case. County Judge Wallace Bateman recommended drug and alcohol treatment for Harbaugh.
Harbaugh is the third person to die while at the prison in 2018.
