The custodial death report filed for 37-year-old David Quannah Brown by the Attorney General of Texas shows that he died on June 6, 2021, less than 7 hours after being booked into Potter County Jail in Amarillo, Texas. Mr. Brown was on suicide watch, and officers have stated they thought he was under the influence of an unknown narcotic.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes the minimum jail standards for county jails in Texas. The rules of jail operation include specifics regarding admission processes and supervision.

RULE §265.3 – Observation During Holding

Jailers are required to observe inmates placed in detoxification cells at intervals that do not exceed 30 minutes. In a report dated June 16, 2021, an inspector with TCJS indicates that a county jail was in non-compliance. The gist of the inspector’s notes follows:

• Although observations of prisoners in holding and detox cells is required every 30 minutes maximum, documentation of face-to-face observation of inmates shows that the mandatory 30-minute time frame was exceeded routinely by 1 to 32 minutes.

RULE §275.1 – Regular Observation by Jailers

The same Texas jail, at the same time, was also found non-compliant regarding supervision of inmates housed in the general population and in the area where inmates recognized as being potentially suicidal or mentally handicapped are housed.

• The 30-minute observations in the at-risk area were routinely exceeded by 1 to 32 minutes. The 60-minute observations were exceeded by 1 to 27 minutes routinely.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

Posts on this website are intended as helpful resources for prisoners now or previously incarcerated in county jails in Texas. There is never an intention on this site to infer wrongs on the part of individuals or institutions.

–Guest Contributor