The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Hector Lopez with the Office of Attorney General on April 18, 2023. Mr. Lopez died in the custody of Bexar County Jail on March 31, 2023. The only information about the cause of death was in answer to this question: If the death was an accident, homicide, or suicide, who caused the death? The answer on the CDR was “Unknown person(s) caused the injury.”

Rule §275.1-Supervision of Inmates-Regular Observation by Jailers

Inmates in the general population of the jail are supposed to be observed in face-to-face contact in increments not to exceed 60 minutes.

• In review of the Bexar County Jail observation logs, it was discovered that jail staff exceeded the 60-minute face-to-face observations by 1 minute and up to 126 minutes on a continual basis.

Statistics show that approximately 20 percent of male inmates and 23 percent of females in U.S. jails report being physically assaulted by fellow inmates. Inmates have a right to be safe in a jail’s custody and free of injury due to assault by another detainee. The most common reason for violence among inmates is inadequate supervision. Blind spots where closed-circuit cameras provide incomplete coverage are another reason violence occurs. When jails are overcrowded and understaffed, there is also an increase in acts of violence.

See Part 1 and this continuing series.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor