On September 29, 2022, 42-year-old Victoria Margaret Simon was arrested by the Houston Police Department. At 10:23 AM that same day, she was booked into Harris County Jail at 1200 Baker St. in Houston, TX 77002. According to the custodial death report (CDR) prepared by the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, she died of unknown causes at 8:40 AM on October 2, 2022.

Camp County Jail is Allegedly Non-Compliant Regarding Restraint Chairs

When loved ones are booked into jails, various issues tend to be at the forefront of concerned minds. Among the circumstances that can cause alarm is when an inmate is placed in a restraint chair. That’s because restraint chairs are controversial in nature. Reports and exposés have been released which reveal that inmates occasionally die after being in a restraint chair.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has approved the use of restraint chairs, though jurisdictions throughout the U.S. have banned their use.

In a Notice of Non-Compliance dated September 12, 2022, Camp County Jail was cited for noncompliance with two minimum jail standards. The jail is at 203 Tapp Street, Pittsburg, TX 75686. Both of those standards are related to potentially critical issues for inmates. One has to do with failing to follow proper identification procedures during intake screening, which can mean that potentially suicidal and mentally ill inmates could be denied the high-risk treatment they need for their own protection.

The other area of non-compliance that Camp County Jail was cited for is the observation of inmates who are in restraints.

• The TCJS inspector noted that, on multiple occasions, when inmates were strapped in a restraint chair, observation checks were conducted from 2 to 17 minutes later than the required 15-minute-max time frame.

Deschutes County in the state of Oregon is a place where restraints seem to be used with great caution. Find out more about Deschutes County’s restraint policies in this continuing series.

This website seeks to help Texas inmates detained in county and municipal jails. Making insinuations that organizations or people have taken part in wrongdoing is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor