The custodial death report filed on Adelaido Adrian Diaz shows the means of his death as “self-inflicted head trauma.” The Pharr Police Department filed the report stating that Mr. Diaz died on April 12, 2021. The official cause of death is pending autopsy results.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has kept approval of restraint chairs in place. Reports from jails and prisons across the nation, meanwhile, show that restraint chair abuses are far too common.

In one jail outside of Texas, a woman claimed that she was a victim of excessive force. Her claim is that she was placed in a restraint chair for 7 hours. After her release from jail, she further claimed that the time spent in the restraint chair caused a flare-up of sickle cell disease, which increased her pain level.

An Alleged Restraint Chair Fatality

In another county jail outside of Texas, a 58-year-old man was incarcerated for a 90-day period. Immediately upon entry into the jail, he suffered a seizure. A physician at the jail prescribed anti-seizure and anti-withdrawal medications and allowed him to be returned to his jail cell. After another seizure, the inmate was taken to a hospital, where he stabilized. During the next six days, the inmate was in an agitated state and experienced hallucinations, confusion, loss of mobility, and incoherent speech.

One morning, after the inmate showed signs of delirium tremens (DTs), jail guards placed him in a restraint chair in the booking area. His total time in the chair was 14 hours, which exceeded the amount of time recommended by the manufacturer. The inmate was only allowed to get out of the restraint chair to eat and visit the infirmary. At one point after getting out of the infirmary, he was again trapped into the restraint chair, where he suffered a heart attack and died.

See Part One and Part Two of this three-part series. 

There is not an intention on this website to imply that any entity or individual is a participant in misdeeds. This website adds posts to help inmates in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor