A 69-year-old inmate from the Harford County Detention Center died on Saturday, December 27, 2025, from a cardiac event while being treated at a local hospital following multiple cardiac related emergency hospital visits over a two-week period.
George Kenney, 69, of Bel Air, had been booked into the Harford County Detention Center on November 1, 2025, to serve an 18-month court-imposed sentence related to Driving While Impaired stemming from charges on August 11, 2025.
On December 16, 2025, while housed with other inmates, Kenney suffered a cardiac related medical emergency. Fellow inmates immediately alerted Correctional Deputies, who responded with contractual medical staff. Together, they began lifesaving efforts to include CPR and Deputies were able to reestablish a pulse. Emergency providers from the Harford County Department of Emergency Services responded and continued care and lifesaving efforts while transporting Kenney to a local hospital.
After receiving treatment, Kenney was released from the hospital, 4 days later, and back to the Detention Center on December 20, 2025. Five and a half hours later he experienced a second cardiac emergency. Correctional Deputies and medical staff responded immediately and provided lifesaving care before medics again transported him to a local hospital where he was alert and conscious.
While hospitalized for the second time, Kenney suffered a third cardiac medical emergency. Kenney succumbed to his medical condition on December 27, 2025. Pursuant to policy, the inquiry into Kenney’s death was assumed by detectives with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. Investigators from the Forensic Services Unit responded to the hospital to support detectives. Preliminary investigation indicates that Kenney’s death was a result of natural causes.
Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler offered the following statement: “Individuals in our custody are often among the most medically compromised members of our community, and we take seriously our responsibility to safeguard their well-being. In this case, our Correctional Deputies and contracted medical staff acted quickly and professionally during multiple medical emergencies at the Detention Center, doing everything they could to save Mr. Kenney’s life. Ultimately, Mr. Kenney’s medical condition was not survivable; I am proud of their efforts and their commitment to the safety and care of every person entrusted to our custody.”
While Kenney was being treated in a hospital, he remained in the custody of the Harford County Detention Center. Kenney’s death has been the only in-custody death at the Harford County Detention Center in 2025.
No further information is available at this time.