Rodney Paul Guerra died earlier this month on April 8, 2022, in the custody of Childress County Jail in Childress, Texas. He was 49 years old, and the cause of death is currently unknown. The Texas Rangers and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) will investigate this tragic custodial death.

Restraint Chair

Rule §351.46 pertains to restraint chairs and provides requirements regarding their use. The circumstances in which a restraint chair may be used are defined in detail. The restraint chair must only be used:

• To prevent self-harm and injury to others or when an inmate is displaying extremely aggressive or disruptive behavior and
• Other approved restraint methods are either inappropriate or ineffective to control the inmate’s behavior

The following guidelines relate to the length of confinement of an inmate who has been placed in a restraint chair:

• An inmate must be released from the restraint chair as soon as the inmate is no longer a threat to others or to himself or herself and the inmate can be reasonably controlled by the staff;
• Every 10 minutes, an inmate must be considered for removal from the restraint chair;
• The maximum time of confinement that an inmate should be held in a restraint chair is one hour unless there has been authorization by the facility administrator or a designee after the inmate’s condition has been examined by one of the following licensed medical professionals:
  • emergency medical services (EMS/fire rescue);
  • paramedic;
  • registered nurse (RN);
  • physician (MD);
  • licensed vocational nurse (LVN);
  • physician assistant (PA); or
  • emergency medical technician (EMT).

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Implying that any person or entity has engaged in wrongdoing is not intended on this website. Providing beneficial information for inmates detained in Texas county jails is the purpose of each post.

–Guest Contributor