Brian Jenkins Commits Suicide in Lamar County Jail – Texas Rangers Investigate

The Lamar County Sheriff’s Department, in Paris, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Brian Christopher Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins was only 40 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we do make any allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Jenkins’ death.

The summary portion of the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department report reads in its entirety:

“On 04/21/2021 at or around 10:00 a.m., Brian Jenkins was arrested on a Violation of Parole warrant, where he was booked in to Lamar County Jail at 11:58 p.m. the same day and placed in a single cell. Due to answers on screening form regarding past attempted suicide history, Jenkins was placed on a clothed suicide watch. On 04/23/2021 at 11:20 p.m., LCSO officers found Brian Jenkins deceased hanging by a noose fashioned from a mattress cover. The Texas Rangers are investigating this incident.”

Our Texas civil rights law firm reviews jail death reports on a frequent basis. Clearly, the summary above provides very little information. It indicates that Mr. Jenkins was a known suicide risk, but was “placed on a clothed suicide watch.” Suicide prevention clothing, sometimes referred to as a suicide smock, is commonly used in county jails. Such clothing is resistant to being used as a ligature. However, even if such clothing was used with regard to Mr. Jenkins, if he was a suicide risk, he should not have had a mattress cover in his cell.

The 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the rights of pre-trial detainees, as the 8^th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of convicted inmates, to receive reasonable medical care and to be protected from themselves and others. This protection includes protection from known self-harm, or suicidal, tendencies. If jailers are aware of suicidal tendencies, and they act unreasonably and/or in a deliberately indifferently manner, and a person dies as a result, then they can be liable to certain surviving family members. Likewise, if a county jail has a policy, practice, and/or custom which leads to such a death, then the county may be liable to certain surviving family members. These lawsuits are typically filed in federal court, and they are filed pursuant to a federal statute: 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

It is typical for the Texas Rangers to investigate custodial deaths in small-to-medium sized counties in Texas. The Texas Rangers only investigate whether they believe a crime occurred related to a death. The Texas Rangers do not investigate whether they believe a constitutional violation occurred. Likewise, in incidents such as that involving Mr. Jenkins, in addition to the Sheriff’s Department conducting an investigation, the District Attorney’s office may conduct its own independent investigation.

Our law firm has filed a number of jail suicide cases in Texas federal courts. Unfortunately, Texas jails continue to put suicidal inmates into cells and allow them to have access to items with which they can form ligatures. Using a ligature is the most common manner of suicide in Texas. Texas jails need to do a better job regarding suicidal inmates and prevent known harm.

Written By: