Man attempts suicide at Holding Center

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - An Erie County Holding Center inmate is in critical condition after a deputy found him hanging from a cell gate.

The sheriff’s office says 54-year-old Edward Berezowski of Williamsville was taken to the Holding Center after an incident at Best Buy in Clarence, when he allegedly attacked and choked a store manager who had asked him to stop using profanity.

There have been a number of suicides at the Holding Center in recent years.

- February 2010, man found after apparent suicide by hanging

- October 2011, an inmate took his own life at the jail

- July 2010, the media was let inside the Holding Center

Sunday around 3:07 p.m., the man was in the Echo Long housing unit and told staff he was going into his cell to take a nap. Around 3:16 p.m. a deputy was conducting safety checks and found the man hanging from a cell gate by his jail issued orange pants.

The sheriff’s office says he was cut down immediately, and the staff started CPR. The man was taken to Buffalo General Hospital and is listed in critical condition.