Juan Herrera was 14 years old when he was allegedly shot in Midland, Texas, by a deputy with the Midland County Sheriff’s Department on March 3, 2022. The custodial death report (CDR) indicates that the cause of death is pending. However, in the CDR summary of how the death occurred, it plainly states that Juan Herrera died as a result of a Midland County Deputy discharging his firearm.

Supervision of Inmates in Restraint Chairs

Restraint chairs have been approved for use in county jails in Texas as well as juvenile detention centers in the state. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes operational guidelines for county jails that house adults. It is only the Texas Juvenile Justice Department that specifies rules uniquely for restraint chairs. The supervision requirements when a juvenile has been placed in a restraint chair follow:

• When a resident has been placed in a restraint chair, he or she must be under constant visual supervision until he or she has been released from the chair.
• The officer whose duty is to provide constant visual supervision of a juvenile in a restraint chair must have limited concurrent duties to ensure that the constant visual supervision requirement is not impeded.
• The officer who is responsible to provide constant visual supervision of an inmate in a restraint chair must have physical possession of the key or other mechanism that may be required to unlock or release the inmate from the restraint chair.
• Audio and/or video monitoring cannot be used as a substitute for constant visual supervision.

If a resident who has been placed in a restraint chair has been classified as a high risk for suicide, supervision shall be provided as will be described in this continuing series.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

Making insinuations regarding wrongdoing having been done by people or entities is never an intention on this website. Each post is aimed at assisting Texas county jail prisoners.

–Guest Contributor