Genaro Rocha was incarcerated at Potter County Jail in Amarillo, Texas, on July 21, 2019. On August 3, 2019, according to a custodial death report, he began behaving in a bizarre manner in an isolation cell. Officers at the jail removed him from the cell so that it could be cleaned and, following a series of events during which Mr. Rocha was sometimes combative, he died on August 5, 2019.

The following continues information on the standard set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) regarding the use of restraint devices in the state’s county jails.

RULE §273.6 – Restraints (Continued)

More of the requirements pertaining to the use of restraint devices in Texas county jails are below:

• When it is viable, restraints placed on inmates should be padded or soft or padded.
• Inmates are not to be restrained in a way or position that would make any physical infirmities worse.
• Observation of an inmate being held in a restraint device must be conducted every 15 minutes at most, and the observation must be documented.
• Assessment of the circulation to the inmate’s extremities and the security of the restraints must be included in each assessment conducted every quarter-hour at most.
• At a minimum of every two hours, an inmate in restraints must receive medical care. This care includes allowing the inmate to exercise extremities, change positions, take nourishment, drink liquids, and visit toilet facilities. Each of these checks must be properly documented.

Learn more in Part 1 and the final segment in this series, which is to come.

The intention of posts on this website is to assist prisoners in Texas county jails. It is never intended to infer wrongs on the part of individuals or organizations.

–Guest Contributor