Sixty-six-year-old Roberto Jaramillo-Salazar was incarcerated in the La Salle County Regional Detention Center, and a jailer moved him and other detainees from one dorm to another, as directed. The jailer was documenting the activity when he heard a loud clap sound after which detainees began trying to get his attention. Mr.Jaramillo-Salazar was seen laying on the floor, and he was pronounced dead a short time later, on December 10, 2021.

Custodial death reports have changed in the past couple of years at the behest of the Attorney General of Texas. Formerly, the details about a custodial death were typically lengthy and involved details that preceded the event surrounding the death. In recent days, with the changes in effect, details are sparse. The summaries are sometimes as short as a sentence. More details can often be found in news reports than in custodial death reports.

In a case in which a news report provided a few more details than the custodial death report, an inmate in a Texas county jail died in the spring of 2021 after being placed on a restraint bed. During the restraint, the inmate became unresponsive, according to the report provided by the County Sheriff. 

Under “Medical Cause of Death” on the report, the reporting agency provided their opinion about the reason the 26-year-old male died in their custody. It states that the inmate had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia. They say that he sustained a fatal acute stress response during the struggle with law enforcement during which he was placed in the restraint bed.

Learn more Part 1 and this continuing series.

It is not intended on this website to make any suggestion that a person or institution engaged in wrongdoing. This site purposes to provide helpful resources benefiting inmates housed in county jails in the state of Texas.

–Guest Contributor