On April 26, 2022, Quaid Copplio Thomas was sleeping in his vehicle when officers with the Plano Police Department were dispatched to check on him. Officers arrested him both for public intoxication and an active warrant. Mr. Thomas was booked into Plano City Jail at 5:17 PM. In the detox cell he was housed in, Mr. Thomas was subject to continuous video monitoring and frequent face-to-face observations. At midnight, he was discovered nonresponsive. After being transported to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead at 1:10 AM on April 27, 2022.

A Former Inmate Describes Having Drug Withdrawals in a County Texas Jail Continued

Details of the experience of a heroin-addicted woman in a Texas county jail continue below:

• After having the opportunity to tell a member of the medical staff at the jail that she was suffering from withdrawals, the woman was sent to a detox cell. About 25 other inmates were housed there. Some of the cellmates exhibited acute symptoms of mental illness. During a four-day period, she remembers bright lights that caused her throbbing head to ache, no sleep, and one woman who seemed to be experiencing schizophrenic psychosis.
• Disgusting smells made the strongest impression of the environment. The toilet was in the corner and the short stall next to it did not prevent the odors of diarrhea, vomit, and blood from engulfing the cell. Having determined that she was the least sick of the women, she used the basic cleaning supplies they were given to clean the floors and toilet three times daily.
• The woman was given Clonidine in the detox tank. Clonidine is a blood pressure medication that hospital emergency departments sometimes prescribe for opioid withdrawal symptoms. The physical symptoms of withdrawal such as chills and agitation can be alleviated by taking Clonidine.

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

This website is intended as a resource helpful to Texas county jail inmates, whether they are currently or were previously incarcerated. There is never an intention on this site to implicate individuals or institutions in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor