Anderson Howard Dies in Rowlett, Texas Jail
The Rowlett Police Department filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Anderson Howard. Mr. Howard was only 25 years old at the time of his death. We provide information in this post obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing related to Mr. Howard’s death.
The summary portion of the report is extensive. Our Texas civil rights law firm reviews custodial death reports in Texas on a regular basis, and the summary in the report regarding Mr. Howard’s death is much longer than a typical custodial death report. The summary reads in its entirety:
“Initial Contact/Arrest: On 10/9/2020, at approximately 4:36am, Rowlett Police Officers were dispatched to 10010 Harmony Hill Ln, Rowlett, Dallas County, Texas, in reference to a driving while intoxicated event in progress. While Officers were enroute to the scene, Rowlett Police Dispatch advised the reporting party stated a driver of a large white in color box truck, with Ryder on the side, was stopped and the driver was unconscious. Upon arriving, Officers observed a white in color 2018 International box truck bearing Indiana LP# (2712613) with Ryder on the side, that was stopped in the parking lot (a public place with public access) of the apartment complex. Officers approached the driver/suspect side door of the vehicle, where officers found the driver to be unconscious at the wheel. Officers woke the suspect with a loud slap to the door which caused the suspect to sit up. Officers had the suspect exit the vehicle to prevent the suspect from driving the vehicle from the location and causing an accident. When the suspect exited the vehicle, the suspect immediately used the truck for balance and swayed back and forth. The suspect also exhibited signs of intoxication with glassy eyes, slurred speech, and spoke with a thick tongue. Officers asked the suspect if he had consumed any alcoholic beverage but the suspect answered he did not drink. Officers then asked the suspect if he would conduct a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) to which he stated he would. Before the start of the SFST’s, Officers verbally identified the suspect. Due to the signs of intoxication observed by Officers during the initial contact with the suspect and the clues from the SFSTs, Officers determined the suspect did not have the normal use of his mental and physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body. Officers then placed the suspect under arrest and into handcuffs, that were double locked and checked for tightness, for violation of Texas Penal Code Section 49.04(a) Driving While Intoxicated Class B misdemeanor. After placing the suspect into the prisoner compartment of the patrol car, he was read the Statutory Warning and gave consent for his blood to be drawn. While officers were speaking with the suspect, other officers were conducting an inventory of the vehicle when they located a tie-dyed colored bag with marijuana in a clear plastic bag and a second clear plastic bag with an unknown amount of white pills. Officers retrieved the bag and brought them to a patrol car for further investigation. When officers opened the baggie with the white pill a third black plastic baggie was located containing nine orange in color pills with the symbol of “AD”. Officers seized the marijuana and the pills for further identification and weights. Officers then transported the suspect to a local hospital to have his blood drawn. Upon arriving at the hospital, the officer was met by a registered nurse who drew the blood from the suspect at 5:40 am. After the completion of the blood draw, Officers transported the suspect to the Rowlett City Jail for processing and booking procedures accordingly. Once at the jail, the suspect was remanded into the jail staff’s custody. After the suspect was placed into the jail, the located pills and marijuana were weighed and identified. Officer used the website of (www.drugs.com) and was able to identify the orange pills as Adderall and the white pills as Xanax (Alprazolam). Due to two previous offenses that were reported (approximately less than an hour before) that stated a white truck with Ryder on the sides struck a wooden fence and then struck a parked vehicle that was unattended without leaving proper information at both scenes. With the evidence of the specific name of Ryder given by the previous reporting party, the current reporting party, and a piece of wood that was located in the front of the suspect’s vehicle that matched the color of the fence from the previous offense officers determined probable cause was met due to the affirmative links of the evidence from the previous offenses and the short time between the suspect leaving the scenes. Officers placed the additional charges of Duty Upon Striking a Fixture Class B and Duty Upon Striking An Unattended Vehicle Class B on the suspect. Jail/Detention : On Friday October 9th, 2020 at approximately 5:58am the subject entered the Rowlett Detention Center to be processed. Detention Officers Lunger # 5876 and Granado # 5836 were on duty during this time. Howard was arrested for the six Dallas County charges listed below: 1. Possession Controlled Substance in Penalty Group 31G.”
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has authority over Texas county jails and city jails that are operated by private companies. It is our understanding that the Rowlett Police Department operates its own jail and is therefore not under the authority of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Regardless, even though the Texas Commission on Jail Standards will likely not conduct an investigation into Mr. Howard’s death, our firm expects that either the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office or, in the alternative, the Texas Rangers will conduct an investigation.
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial inmates in Texas to receive reasonable medical care. If a jailer is deliberately indifferent to known medical needs, and a person dies as a result, then the jailer could be liable to certain surviving family members pursuant to a federal cause of action. Once again, we make no allegation of any wrongdoing regarding Mr. Howard’s death, but are instead simply providing general information.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone