Farad Polk accidentally locked in Chicago jail for 32 hours is awarded $600,000

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Farad Polk was visiting his son at the Cook County Jail in Chicago when he was told to head down a hallway and take a turn
He ended up a room and when the door shut behind him there was no way to escape
He spent 32 hours in the cement-floored room with no toilet, food, water, or bed until he was able to break open a sprinkler head and the fire department came
Even then, he was handcuffed and questioned

By Kiri Blakeley For Dailymail.com

Published: 20:40 EST, 29 November 2016 | Updated: 02:46 EST, 30 November 2016

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A father accidentally locked inside a maximum-security prison cell for 32 hours was awarded a $600,000 settlement.

Farad Polk was visiting his son, also named Farad Polk, in a Cook County Jail in Chicago when he was told by an employee to take a turn down a hallway and he entered what he thought was a visiting area.

However it turned out to be a small room for people to visit the most dangerous prisoners and wasn't being used, reports NBC Chicago.

The door shut behind him and soon he realized there was no way to get out and no one heard his cries for help.

Dad Farad Polk, above, got more than he bargained for when he visited his son at the Cook County Jail

The small room, above, where Polk was locked in contained no toilet or bed and he had no food or water and no one heard his screams

Polk only wanted to visit his son in jail but now says he's so traumatized he can't go back there

A Cook County Prison spokesperson says a 'perfect storm' of 'bizarre circumstances' led to Polk being locked in a small cement-floored room for 32 hours

Polk's son, also named Farad Polk, above, is in the Cook County Jail - he's been there since January 7

'Kicking the door, screaming, hollerin' up, screaming under the door,' Polk told ABC News of his attempts to get help.

Polk's lawyer, Cannon Lambert, said that Polk could hear guards on the other side of the wall, but no one came to his rescue.

Trapped in the eight by eight cell for 32 hours, Polk had to go to the bathroom on the floor, sleep on cold concrete, and had no food or water.

He was finally rescued by the fire department when he managed to break open a sprinkler.

He needed stitches on his thumb from where he injured it while trying to jimmy open the sprinkler head.

Polk jimmied open a sprinkler head, which got the attention of the fire department, which rescued him - but he had to get stitches on his thumb

To add insult to injury, when the fire department arrived, he was handcuffed and questioned.

He said he thought he would die in the cell and sued for emotional trauma.

Since the incident, he says he's been unable to visit his son, who has been in the jail since January on drug charges, according to the New York Daily News. Polk was awarded $600,000 in a settlement from the jail.

Cook County Jail spokesperson Cara Smith said that the incident happened to due to a 'perfect storm' of 'bizarre circumstances.'