Topeka ? An activist is seeking an outside investigation into the September death of an inmate inside Shawnee County’s jail.

The activist, Sonny Scroggins of Topeka, said he was not satisfied so far with the county’s review of the death of 38-year-old Roy Hardy III. Scroggins, active in civil rights-related causes, recently helped found a local chapter of the National Action Network, a group led by the Rev. Al Sharpton, a New York activist.

Last month, the group wrote a letter to the Justice Department saying it was “monitoring this situation very closely.” Scroggins said federal or state officials should step in.

“There needs to be an outside investigation,” Scroggins said.

Hardy’s family has hired an attorney to look into his death. The attorney, Greg Lee of Topeka, said he hadn’t formed any conclusions and was awaiting the results of a toxicology report to see what medications Hardy was taking at the time of his death.

“We’re doing our own investigation,” Lee said.

Rich Eckert, Shawnee County counselor, said there was nothing in Hardy’s case that suggested an outside investigation was warranted. A coroner’s report concluded Hardy, who had a congenital heart disorder, died of natural causes.

Eckert said he had referred cases of jail deaths previously to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, but in Hardy’s case, “I can’t find where we missed anything.”