Bruno Mandujano Ayala Dies After in Custody of Arlington, Texas Police Department
The Arlington Police Department, in Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Bruno Mandujano Ayala. Mr. Ayala was 59 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, which was filed with the Attorney General of Texas, but we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.
Mr. Ayala passed away on May 1, 2022 at 2:22 a.m., according to the report. The summary portion of the reports reads in its entirety:
“On April 30, 2022, around 22:25 hours, Bruno Ayala H/M D/020563 was arrested by Corporal Joshua Bennett #3090 for public intoxication and a felony warrant out of Denton County Sheriffs Office for possession of a controlled substance. Officers were dispatched to the call location (suspicious person), after the complainant stated Ayala walked onto a residential property yelling and screaming about killing someone, and other people trying to kill him. Ayala refused to leave the property. Officers located Ayala in the driveway of the residence, sweating profusely, shouting about seeing men around him with guns, and observed that Ayala’s pupils were dilated. After being arrested, Ayala was transported to the Arlington City Jail. After being booked in, Ayala was placed in the padded cell, due to his behavior. While in the padded cell, detention officers routinely, approximately every 15 minutes, checked on Ayala through the cell window. Around 01:20 hours on May 1, 2022, Jail staff discovered Ayala was not breathing and unresponsive in the cell. Jail staff immediately began life saving measures, contacted the on-duty EMT, and requested EMS on scene. Ayala was transported by EMS to Arlington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased on May 1, 2022, around 02:22 hours.”
Therefore, it appears that EMTs were not called either to the scene of the arrest or to the jail. Arresting police officers and jailers have a constitutional duty to provide reasonable medical care to people in their custody. They also have an obligation to transport people with mental health issues, who are a danger to themselves and others, to an in-patient mental health facility.
It would seem to have been prudent, since Mr. Ayala appeared to be seeing people who were not there, and was sweating profusely and had dilated pupils, to obtain medical care for him. It is insufficient to simply observe a person without obtaining needed medical care. Jailers, cities, and counties cannot be deliberately indifferent to or act objectively unreasonably regarding significant medical and/or mental health needs of inmates.
If arresting officers, jailers, or others who have a person in custody fail to provide medical care, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring a lawsuit. Such lawsuits are brought for violation of the United States Constitution, and they are usually filed in federal court. In fact, our Texas jail neglect law firm is currently litigating a case against the City of Arlington. That case is pending in the United States Supreme Court, and it arose out of the tasing of a man who had been doused with gas. Predictably, and horrifically, the man caught fire and ultimately died from his burns.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone