Brian Keith Gandy Dies in Gaines County Jail

The Gaines County Sheriff’s Office, in Seminole, Texas, filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Brian Keith Gandy. Mr. Gandy was only 35 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The report indicates that Mr. Gandy made suicidal statements. It also indicates that he exhibited mental health problems. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“Subject had been in an altercation with his wife. According to her he had choked her, hit her and fired a firearm at her. He had left the scene prior to Deputies arrival. He was found later on and had a Warrant for Motion To Revoke Probation of a previous drug charge. A case was filed against him the next day for Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon. He had been placed on suicide watch for the first couple of days in jail. The Justice of The Peace had taken him off of Suicide Watch after speaking with him and did not think he was at risk any longer. On 04/21/2020 at about 3:45PM he hung himself with a bed sheet by tying it to his bed and around his neck. He kneeled down and cut off his air supply causing Asphyxia from hanging. He was transported by EMS to our local hospital and he was pronounced as deceased on 04/21/2021 at 4:04pm. The Jail Commission and Texas Rangers were notified immediately and Texas Ranger Dominic Zuniga worked the case and attended the autopsy.”

Our Texas law firm unfortunately sees a significant number of jail suicides, and we are currently handling a number of such cases. Texas jails need to be vigilant about inmates who present with mental health issues and/or suicidal tendencies. Jailers need to watch for inmates who are intoxicated, have been involved with family violence, have been sentenced to a lengthy incarceration, have PTSD, have bipolar disorder, and otherwise exhibit mental health issues.

If a Texas county has a policy, practice, and/or custom that leads to the death of an inmate, then the inmate’s constitutional rights may have been violated. Certain surviving family members may have claims pursuant to the death of an inmate. This is general information our law firm is providing, and we once again make no comment regarding any potential wrongdoing that led to Mr. Gandy’s death.

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