The Midland County Sheriff’s Department prepared a custodial death report on Juan Herrera, a 14-year-old whose tragic death was pre-custodial. Young Herrera was fleeing on foot when a Midland County Deputy discharged his firearm. The teen died the same day, which was March 3, 2022.

Required Training Associated with Using Restraint Chairs

Annual training is required for any juvenile detention officer or juvenile probation officer who obtains authorization to place a resident in a restraint chair. The training topics must include the following information though the training is not limited to these topics:

• The circumstances that are appropriate for using the restraint chair
• How to properly use the device, such as correctly getting the inmate safely into and out of the restraint chair
• How to monitor the circulation points and vital signs of an inmate who has been placed in a restraint chair
• The documentation which must be filled out when the restraint chair is used
• The procedures for supervising a resident who is placed in the chair
• Emergency procedures for removing an inmate from a restraint chair

Required Observation Log Associated with  Restraint Chairs

Every 10 minutes, an inmate in a restraint chair must be checked in a face-to-face observation. The documentation in the observation log must include the following:

• The reason and justification for continuing to keep and for deciding to remove a resident from a restraint chair;
• Results of all circulation checks; and
• Noting that a medical check has been conducted.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this continuing series.

Accusing persons or institutions of wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Providing Texas prisoners in county jails with helpful resources is the purpose of the website’s posts.

–Guest Contributor