Constantin Filan died at age 23 in Houston, Texas, on July 1, 2020, after fleeing from officers with the Memorial Villages Police Department. The officers had taken Mr. Filan into their custody but he slipped out of the handcuffs and ran. Ultimately, he got in a struggle with an officer in pursuit, during which time he was fatally shot.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has approved the use of restraint chairs in county jails. Many jurisdictions in the United States have outlawed the use of restraint chairs in their jails because of misconduct associated with them. Many complaints have been lodged against jails as well as prisons because of abuse that occurs directly in connection with the chairs. There are certain predictable patterns of abuse, such as using a taser on an inmate who is immobilized in the restraint chair. Oftentimes, inmates are forced to urinate and defecate on themselves because no one will release them to use the restroom.

Deaths are also linked to restraint chairs. In many disturbing cases in which inmates died after being in one of these restraint devices, it later comes to light that a taser was repeatedly used on them.

Inmates held in restraint chairs are strapped in at their arms, legs, and torso. TCJS requires jail staff members to only use such a drastic type of restraint system if nothing less immobilizing will keep the inmate under control.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

Making an implication that any person or entity has participated in wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Posts are provided to serve as helpful resources benefiting inmates currently or previously held in a county jail in Texas.

–Guest Contributor