Shortly after going through the booking process at Lubbock County Jail in Lubbock, Texas, 45-year-old Chad Douglas Farmer was transferred to the medical unit housing area. No details were provided by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office to explain why he was moved. The next day, May 4, 2021, Farmer died, though no further information was reported to describe his health condition.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has set the state’s minimum jail standards, which include measures that are designed to help prevent custodial deaths. The issue of medical care is included in the Texas Code, and TCJS receives far more complaints about medical care than any other issue. Results of jail inspections described in Jail Inspection Reports don’t typically reflect violations in the area of medical care, which is inconsistent with reporting about complaints. Two exceptions are violations regarding prescription distribution and the one below, which has to do with medical care related to inmates being placed in restraints.

Noncompliance: RULE §273.6(1) – Restraints

Texas Administrative Code Title 37, Part 9, Chapter 273, Rule §273.6(1) requires that a prisoner’s health condition must be assessed by supervisory or medical personnel before either of those individuals of authority make the decision to use restraints on an inmate.

• According to notes made by a TCJS inspector, detention officers at that jail are the ones who make the decision to place prisoners in the emergency restraint chair.

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

The aim of adding posts to this website is to help present and past prisoners in Texas county jails. The site does not intend to suggest that persons or entities have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor