Chico Jesus Diaz, age 29, was en route to Dallas County Jail on May 9, 2021, when he became unconscious. Mr. Diaz was transported to a hospital in, Dallas, Texas, where he died within a couple of hours. The custodial death report reflects both that he had been in handcuffs while in custody and that he died of the toxic effects of methamphetamine.

The custodial death report of a particular man who died as a result of a Texas police shooting provides an example of purportedly inadequate reporting. According to the aforementioned investigation, the police department that filed the custodial death report on the 20-year-old male made vague claims that allegedly did not do a good job of relating the facts.

For instance, the gun that the deceased was waving in the air turned out to be a BB gun. The report says that the suspect in the case – the deceased – was armed with a handgun, which he pointed first at himself and then toward officers. One of the police officers fired multiple shots. The young man suffered multiple gunshot wounds, which resulted in his death.

The investigation that was done points out that reporting law enforcement agencies have discretion about what to include when summarizing narratives of events resulting in custodial deaths. There is nothing in the law that specifies what must be included in that portion of the report. In addition, there are no length requirements. In other words, a single sentence could be used to sum up what happened.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series to learn more.

This website never has any intention of suggesting that any individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing. Posts on this site are added for the purpose of helping current and former prisoners detained in county jails in Texas. 

–Guest Contributor